F**king politicians and their legal bureaucrats - scummy, lying, hypocritical, shakedown artists! The tobacco industry should countersue for $100B.... the Ontario government ... Tuesday launched a $50-billion lawsuit against a dozen tobacco companies for health services dating back more than half a century. British Columbia and New Brunswick already have multi-billion-dollar suits before the courts ...
... It is hard to avoid the impression that this is anything but a crude shakedown of an unpopular industry ...
Governments should just admit they are as hopelessly addicted to tobacco as any smoker, and end their duplicitous attempt to look pious on smoking while at the same time reeling in billions annually.
"One should doubtless keep an open mind...though open at both ends, like the food pipe, and have a capacity for excretion as well as intake." -- Northrop Frye, 'The Great Code'
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Tobacco lawsuits “a crude shakedown”
An excellent Post editorial pretty much says it all:
You will notice, however, that none of these gutless governments are going after purveyors of the products that are a leading cause of juvenile diabetes. I refer, of course, to the manufacturers of sugary confections, soft drinks, and fast food. The CMA has stated that obesity is a bigger problem and bigger drain on the health care system than is smoking.
ReplyDeleteIn Calgary, a number of surgeons have demanded additional fees for carrying out procedures on obese patients.
Of course, hypocrisy is one of the principal things at which governments are good.
The government should be careful. If they succeed with their own suit it would not be a stretch to see themselves one day being sued for allowing, through legislation, the sale of that very same tobacco that they know is harmful.
ReplyDeleteIt will happen.
I agree with Anonymous - but I would go much further!
ReplyDeleteThere have, over the history of 'tobacco', been MANY government grants and support programs for farmers to grow tobacco...