Stupid Tobacco Ruling
The Government is suing tobacco companies for conspiring to make smoking addictive and wanted 130 BILLION dollars in fines.
What they got instead is a ruling that cigarette makes must change the brand names. They can no longer use words like “mild, light or ultra-light.” No fines were imposed because tobacco companies had already agreed to prior settlements with the government.
From the AP here:
Tobacco firms deceived smokers
WASHINGTON – A federal judge says the nation’s top cigarette makers conspired for decades to mislead the public about the health hazards and addictive nature of smoking, but she says there’s not much she can do to make them pay.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler sided with the government Thursday in its seven-year-old civil racketeering case against the tobacco industry. However, she rejected a bid by the Justice Department to make tobacco companies pay billions of dollars in remedies.
The judge ordered the companies to stop labeling cigarettes as “low tar,” “light,” “ultra light” or “mild,” saying they have used those terms to mislead consumers.
“They distorted the truth about low tar and light cigarettes so as to discourage smokers from quitting,” Kessler said.
“They suppressed research. They destroyed documents. They manipulated the use of nicotine so as to increase and perpetuate addiction,” Kessler wrote in the ruling, which often referenced internal industry memos.
The government had asked the judge to make the companies pay $10 billion for smoking cessation programs, though the Justice Department’s own expert said $130 billion was needed.
I used to be a smoker and I am very happy I quit. But as an adult, I knew what I was doing when I smoked. No one was deceiving me. I smoked lights and I liked the flavor of them over the standard cigarettes. And you know what? I never opened a pack of cigarettes that I was unsatisfied with.
And regarding ultralight cigarettes- you get less of a draw from the tobacco because of the filter design, and you do smoke less, enabling someone to quit if they are trying to step down their nicotine intake. Thousands have quit by switching to lighter brands.
And if you are young and can afford it, I say go ahead and smoke! Do it while its still easy to breathe. ‘Cause when you start pushing 40, picking up a bad habit like smoking rarely tops your list.
Most people who use tobacco (smoking or other use) know the dangers. The idea of suing tobacco companies is $. With taxing tobacco to support tobacco cessation, that’s OK. The lawsuits against tobacco are about money, because if interest is to protect people, then make tobacco illegal.
Know 3 people who died of lung cancer. All were smokers. Yes, a person can get emphysema, lung cancer, COPD and other diseases without being exposed to smoke because some people have bad genes. Yes, you can get the same diseases from being exposed to air pollution over large periods of time. Yes, a person can smoke or use tobacco their entire life (including chew tobacco) and not get lung cancer, COPD or other diseases associated with tobacco, as some people have good genes.
But what is true is that if a person smokes or uses tobacco, they increase their risks of getting lung cancer, emphysema or other diseases. If the 3 people I knew had not smoked, then their chances of dying lung cancer would have been less. Yes, it’s possible all 3 got lung cancer because of bad genes even if they had lived a clean life and not smoked and yes, it’s possible they got it because of huge exposure to air pollution or other toxins.
While I won’t say they definitely would have avoided lung cancer had they not smoked, it’s better not to smoke. If a person does not smoke or use tobacco, they decrease their risks of getting the diseases described. If you want to reduce your chances of getting diseases then live as clean a life as possible and do not use tobacco. When you use tobacco, you increase your risks.