Professional wrestler James Fullington, while in character as "The Sandman", is a chronic smoker in order to appear "tough". The problem of smoking at home is particularly difficult for women in many cultures (especially Arab cultures), where it may not be acceptable for a woman to ask her husband not to smoke at home or in the presence of her children. Studies have shown that pollution levels for smoking areas indoors are higher than levels found on busy roadways, in closed motor garages, and during fire storms. Furthermore, smoke can spread from one room to another, even if doors to the smoking area are closed.The ceremonial smoking of tobacco, and praying with a sacred pipe, is a prominent part of the religious ceremonies of a number of Native American Nations. Sema, the Anishinaabe word for tobacco, is grown for ceremonial use and considered the ultimate sacred plant since its smoke is believed to carry prayers to the spirits. In most major religions, however, tobacco smoking is not specifically prohibited, although it may be discouraged as an immoral habit. Before the health risks of smoking were identified through controlled study, smoking was considered an immoral habit by certain Christian preachers and social reformers. The founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, recorded that on 27 February 1833, he received a revelation which discouraged tobacco use. This "Word of Wisdom" was later accepted as a commandment, and faithful Latter-day Saints abstain completely from tobacco.
Beginning in December 1952, the magazine Readers Digest published "Cancer by the Carton", a series of articles that linked smoking with lung cancer.In 1954, the British Doctors Study, a prospective study of some 40 thousand doctors for about 2.5 years, confirmed the suggestion, based on which the government issued advice that smoking and lung cancer rates were related. In January 1964, the United States Surgeon Generals Report on Smoking and Health likewise began suggesting the relationship between smoking and cancer.As scientific evidence mounted in the 1980s, tobacco companies claimed contributory negligence as the adverse health effects were previously unknown or lacked substantial credibility. Health authorities sided with these claims up until 1998, from which they reversed their position. The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, originally between the four largest US tobacco companies and the Attorneys General of 46 states, restricted certain types of tobacco advertisement and required payments for health compensation; which later amounted to the largest civil settlement in United States history.Social campaigns have been instituted in many places to discourage smoking, such as Canadas National Non-Smoking Week. From 1965 to 2006, rates of smoking in the United States declined from 42% to 20.8%. The majority of those who quit were professional, affluent men. Although the per-capita number of smokers decreased, the average number of cigarettes consumed per person per day increased from 22 in 1954 to 30 in 1978. This paradoxical event suggests that those who quit smoked less, while those who continued to smoke moved to smoke more light cigarettes.