Lost in the Weed

Comments: 0 - Date: June 10th, 2009 - Categories: Clipfile, Politics, economy

We stopped subsidizing tobacco farming. The result? Tobacco farming’s on the rise.

Normally I like to do a little intro, but I think this story speaks for itself. Here’s the first graf, please click through to read the rest of the story on how tobacco companies are getting their way with our government.

When President Obama signed legislation in mid-June to bring tobacco under FDA regulation, few seemed outraged that the legislation had been co-written by Philip Morris USA (PM). The bill was designed, critics say, to stabilize the place of cigarettes in our society: to diminish the threat of health-related lawsuits, to prevent competitive yet possibly safer products from being introduced, and to lock in Philip Morris’ market share. It’s not just the Harvard School of Public Health leveling these charges but even Sen. Bob Bennett, Republican of Utah, a supporter of the intent of the bill who was nonetheless “convinced we would do better if we told Philip Morris to stay out of the process of writing tobacco legislation.”

Lost in the Weed | The Big Money.

Cool, Refreshing Legislation for Philip Morris: Why it’s politically impossible to ban menthol cigarettes, even if they’re the most addictive.

Comments: 0 - Date: June 9th, 2009 - Categories: Clipfile, Politics

A Cool, Refreshing, Death Sentence

It’s a sad state of affairs when the company selling the product you’re trying to regulate is writing the regulations, but tht’s exactly what’s happening in Congress right now with Philip Morris. As I write:

“It is a dream come true for Philip Morris,” Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, told me. “First, they make it look like they are a reformed company which really cares about reducing the toll of cigarettes and protecting the public’s health; and second, they protect their domination of the market and make it impossible for potentially competitive products to enter the market.” Other tobacco companies have taken to calling the bill the “Marlboro Monopoly Act of 2009.”

Please give this story a read– it’s important, and a reminder to stay vigilant about our government, no matter who is in power.

Cool, Refreshing Legislation for Philip Morris: Why it’s politically impossible to ban menthol cigarettes, even if they’re the most addictive.