Sue's Noose Goose Snus Snooze

Yep, that's a tongue twister I'm using for the title of this post. Does it make sense? Well, not exactly, but it's fun to try to say it ten times. (Betcha you can't do it!)

Moving on.

Fans of truthiness are troubled when they encounter bogusivity. But how can you even tell which is which?

Case in point. Snus. Electronic Cigarettes. Dip. Vapor Stick. Chewing Tobacco. Snuff. Dissolvable Tobacco. Cigarette Substitutes. Smoking Alternatives. All will get you the nicotine you are addicted to. But are they healthy? Are they a good idea? Should you try them? Should you buy them?

Dr. Brad Rodu, D.D.S. is making a career out of promoting tobacco and nicotine via delivery systems other than smoking. He even advocated that Senator Barack Obama (now President Barack Obama) use smokeless tobacco.

Dr. Brad Rodu is a Professor of medicine at the University of Louisville. He holds an endowed chair (more about that in a future post) in tobacco harm reduction - or THR as he calls it.

(Clarification Note or Full Disclosure as they call it in journalism and politics):

His research, and thus the
lifestyle that he's become accustomed to,
is supported by tobacco manufacturers.

So, I'm wondering. Is he really concerned about all this tobacco and chew and snus and snuff, or is this just a prelude to his launching his career on some competing television channel (such as FOX) as an alternative to Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report" (TCR)?

There are so many similarities it's just uncanny.

* Both are doctors.
* Both use statistics.
* Both document their sources.
* Both talk about pharmaceuticals.
* Both use the internet to get their point or points across to a wide segment of loyal followers.
* I could go on and on but I won't.

Funny note here. Some would suggest that Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report" often talks with tongue in cheek. Ha ha ha. Ha ha. Ha. People who use smokeless tobacco would talk with tobacco in cheek. Both of those would be called TIC. Tongue In Cheek. Tobacco in Cheek. Get it?

Anyway, what makes me think that Dr. Brad Rodu may be trying to take over the late night conservative pundit job that Dr. Colbert is doing so well is that he uses similar tactics to push his agenda. Dr. Brad Rodu is very good at using truthiness as I have explained in in a previous post. (See November 30, 2010 post entitled, "The Truthiness, the Whole Truthiness, and Nothing But the Truthiness.")

Dr. Rodu tells you some of the story, but not the rest of the story, just as Dr. Colbert often does. I mentioned in that previous post on "The Truthiness, the Whole Truthiness, and Nothing But the Truthiness" about Dr. Rodu talking about our life expectancy being better than it used to be. But it's 14 years less for smokers than for non-smokers, so that's the rest of the story.

And then it gets all confusing when people try to make other people think that it's the smoking that's the problem and not the tobacco that's the problem. There's been so much emphasis on quitting smoking, when it really probably should have been an emphasis on quitting tobacco.

"I wish I could quit you." How many smokers have said that? And how many times have they said that?

Dr. Colbert has his Cheating Death segments [here] and Dr. Rodu seems to be saying that smokeless tobacco can help tobacco users cheat death. But again, is that all tongue in cheek talking by one or both of these doctors?

It's a new year and anything is possible. For now I will leave you with some sources to check out [here] and [here] and [here]
and [here] and [here].

Also [here] and [here] and [here] and [here].

Interestingly enough, on a Wikipedia entry, Dr. Rodu's blog was listed under NON-medical blogs and commentary. That is yet another indication that there is a potential of a possibility that perhaps, maybe, a competitor to Dr. Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report (TCR) is in the planning stages or at least in the "thinking about it" planning stages.

FOX, are you interested? We need more comedians in these tough times.

The Truthiness, The Whole Truthiness, and Nothing But the Truthiness

Previously I posted about Brad Rodu, Professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville. He holds an endowed chair in tobacco harm reduction research. You really do have to admire someone who employs the same scientific rigor that Stephen Colbert uses.

For example, on his blog he has a graph that shows how the Life Expectancy in the United States has gone up. It's at almost 78 years now. Think how great that is if you are 20 years old! Of course, it's not so great if you are 79 years old. Yowza.

But, for the most part, we are living longer. And that is the Truthiness of Brad Rodu (or should I say, Dr. Brad Rodu, D.D.S.) that Stephen Colbert, inventor of Truthiness, would approve of.

Here's where the Whole Truthiness and Nothing But The Truthiness comes in. According to CDC, i.e. Center for Disease Control, life expectancy for smokers is 14 years less than for non-smokers.

So, hurray for Dr. Rodu for using Truthiness to his advantage. Use the parts that you like and those other parts, well they can just be ignored. Never mind that CDC says that an average dose of smokeless tobacco contains at least twice the amount of nicotine found in the average cigarette. And never mind that nicotine is an addictive drug. Just stick to Truthiness. It is ever so much easier.

Colbert Meet Rodu

Brad Rodu, or Brad K. Rodu, D.D.S., has many things in common with Stephen Colbert. I'm going to start a list so you can see the similarities.

1. Both are men.

2. Both have last names that are two syllables.

3. Both men's last names end with a vowel sound.

4. Both of them are Professors.

5. Both men are concerned with medical matters.

6. Both men conduct research.

But there are some differences and I will post more about those differences in the future. While Dr. Colbert constantly plugs pharmaceuticals, Dr. Rodu plugs plugs. (Notice the humor there!) Dr. Rodu, in his quest for tobacco cessation, recommends tobacco. (Smokeless tobacco)

Confused? You should be. More later, so watch for updates.