Philip Morris?

Question

Their product is proven over and over to kill hundreds of thousands of people every year? Why is this "Legal" drug not banned around the world? Why do people get sentenced years in prison for dealing/selling"NON-CANCER" drugs.Is it because that "NON-CANCER" drugs are easy to grow and "NON-TAXABLE". Why does the goverment sue the Tabacco Companies,when we the people/tax payers pay for treatment,then the goverment sues,I dont understand.Smoking over the years has killed more people than a nuclear bomb.Our goverment will spend Billions a month to fight in another country to fight terrorist who blew up 2 towers and killed at the most 3500 people.But they bow down to American Companies who kill hundreds of thousands a year for profit.Please make me understand.

Answer 1

it is really bad

Answer 2

It's a political issue. It would be very easy for an in-house politician to vote to pass legislation that would add nicotine to the Schedule 1 list of controlled substances.

The problem is that it would be very difficult for said politician to be reelected back into office next term. Why? Two reasons:

Phillip Morris hires lobbyists and contributes larges sums of money to politicians' election campaigns. If a third of a politician's money disappears, it's much more difficult to run a successful campaign.

Making nicotine a controlled substance would be as unpopular or possible more unpopular than prohibition. (We hated it, the mob loved it.) Smokers would turn out in force to vote for the guy who will repeal the smoking ban.

Politically, there is no good way to stamp out cigarettes. Tobacco companies lobby for it to be legal. Smokers vote for it to be legal. Non-smokers (in most cases) probably wouldn't care enough to vote against it.

As a liberal, I've always felt that the laws should promote individual choice over individual restriction. Penn and Teller's series on Showtime entitled 'Bullshit' (title is probably censored) did a big piece about second hand smoke, effectively proving false through investigative journalism and the scientific method that second hand smoke is as dangerous or more dangerous than smoking it yourself..

Second hand smoke was the only reason I would have banned smoking outright as it violated other people's rights to be free of smoke. With that removed, the only thing a ban would do is prevent a person from doing something they may enjoy doing that is only doing them self wrong.

Instead, I feel that the federal government should promote anti-smoking campaigns and should raise corporate income taxes (not excise taxes) for companies selling (and here we create a new category) 'Class A Unhealthful and Addictive Products'.

Under this, any company that sells a product labeled by the FDA or other organization as a 'Class A Unhealthful and Addictive Product' would have to surrender a portion (5% to 10% of sales margin) to the IRS where it is then earmarked to 'Class A Unhealthful and Addictive Product Rehabilitation Organizations'. Programs such as T.R.U.T.H. would be entitle to funding from this money.

Now, there still exists the problem of Philip Morris selling a product that is unethical to sell. Unfortunately, this is a capitalist economy. If you want a government that can control what products a company can an can't sell (as strictly as you're looking for), I hear Cuba, China, and North Korea are prime real estate. They all operate with communist economies: all businesses are owned by the government.

Answer 3

You have focused on one small symptom of the disease that is killing The United States of America.

We are no longer a system of representative democracy, nor are we any longer a Republic. The US is a fascist State ruled by the Corporations.

A simple look at our elections process makes this point easily.

In order for a person to get elected to National Office, that person, first has to raise large sums of money. We donate our cash to the candidate that we plan to vote for. The Corporations also donate to their candidate, in larger amounts than the average citizen cold afford to.

The Money collected is then, in large part, paid to the Mass Media Corporations to purchase advertising air time.

So far we have forced our candidate to take stands that promote the interests of the Corporate entities for donations in order to pay other Corporations for the privilege of using OUR PUBLIC air waves to inform us about the Candidates.

This is why Corporate donations to political candidates are so prevalent. The donations are no-cost to the overall Corporate structure. The money donated is paid right back to the Corporate accounts.

The Candidate's debt is definitely not without cost. Our now newly elected "Representative" received a lot of money from Corporate sponsors. That money made his election possible. Without that money, or if enough of that money is directed to his opponent, re-election will be difficult if not impossible.

Our "Representative" is by default, as a result of being elected into office, in a direct conflict of interest with the Corporations, and the money wins.

This is not an indictment of the Candidates. It is a fact or our election process.

Added to the mix, Corporate Lobbyists. The job of the Corporate Lobbyist is the constantly remind our "Representatives" of the debt that they owe, and to tempt them with the trips, vacations, money, prostitutes or whatever the politician desires.

Now, maybe, they will receive some news byte of a personal nature to be used against the Politician. If not, participation in this process ensures that the process itself will be continued.

The worst case scenario for the Corporation is that their lobbyist or Politician gets caught by flagrant violations, which means they have to recruit someone else.

The first thing that happened after the Democratic victories this past November was the immediate scramble of the Corporations to hire Democratic Lobbyists. The Candidates had not had a chance to sober up from their victory parties, much less think about or introduce any legislation, but the green lobbying carpet is already installed and is waiting for them.

SO.......

Jack's Proposals for a better USA

First we as voters have to remind our politicians that our interests are more important to them than corporate dollars.

We do this in the following ways:

First we refuse to allow any incumbent to remain in office. Party affiliation dos not matter. They all owe the same Corporations. This will have to be done for several election cycles.

Second, we outlaw Corporate Lobbying. Corporation's can make their evaluation of a law in hearings, or a sub-committee on Corporate policy.

Third, we legislate an "Election Air Time Act" to ensure that all Candidates get equal air time coverage, and that coverage will be donated by the Networks.

Fourth, We mount an intense review of all legislation in Washington to determine which Laws require changes, based on their bias for Corporate interests. This review should include criminal investigations and prosecutions of offenders. Industries which affect the most voters would require the highest scrutiny.

Media Corporations, and all laws regarding the use of the "PUBLIC Airwaves" would be my first choice.

Energy Corporations, because of the vital importance of energy Production.

Defense Contractors, because of the sheer volume of expenditures and the complete lack of oversight.

This would be a beginning, and is, by no means an all inclusive list.

Answer 4

Money buys lobbyists who work Washington DC.
Phillip Morris has changed it's name to Altria and owns:

Boca Burger
Crystal Light (or Clight in several countries)
Daim
Gevalia
Jacobs coffee
Kaffee HAG (the world's first decaffeinated coffee)
Kool-Aid
Kraft spreads, dressings, cheeses and dinners
Maxwell House
Milka
Miracle Whip
Miracoli dinners
Nabisco biscuits
Onko
Oscar Mayer meats
Post Cereals (some brands are former Nabisco cereals)
Pacific biscuits, China's number one biscuit
Philadelphia cream cheese
Shake 'n' Bake breading mixes
Suchard cocoa
Tang
Tombstone pizzas
Toblerone
Vegemite

With $101,220,000 reported lobbying, Altria is the corporation with the biggest investment in influencing lawmakers in Washington

Answer 5

The govt makes a FORTUNE off the cigarette companies in the form of taxes and lawsuits. They don't intend to kill off that particular Golden Goose any time soon.

Plus, I am hard pressed to lay all the blame on Phillip Morris for one simple reason. You really have to be a fool to believe inhaling smoke is not harmful to you. I mean, do you see people racing to fires to take deep breaths? Do you inhale deeply every time you open the bar-b-q grill because you think the smoke is good for you? Of course not. People who smoke already know fully well that inhaling smoke is a stupid thing to do, but they do it anyway for various reasons... to stay thin, to calm their nerves, etc. None of them do it because they think it's good for their health, so why insist that "Big Tobacco Companies" should be the only ones to shoulder the blame?.

Answer 6

Bring on the Rum.

Answer 7

beats me.