MetaFilter posts tagged with BigTobacco

The blue state Sarah Palin

IvoShandor — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:01:56 -0800

Michelle Cottle takes a look at the rise of Betsy "Death Panels" McCaughey - No Exit: The never-ending lunacy of Betsy McCaughey: Since her earliest days in the spotlight, McCaughey has presented herself as a just-the-facts-please, above-the-fray political outsider. In reality, she has proved devastatingly adept at manipulating charts and stats to suit her ideological (and personal) ambitions. No stranger to falsehoods Elizabeth "Betsy" McCaughey, played a pivotal role in the takedown of the Clinton health care reform plan in 1994, on the very same pages that Cottle's piece appeared on October 5. The assertions she made in that '94 piece were shown to have been heavily influenced by Big Tobacco in a recent Rolling Stone piece (excerpt only), and were debunked far too late by James Fallows. McCaughey responded to those accusations by attacking Rolling Stone for accepting tobacco advertisements. The RS journalist responded in kind, pointing out, among other items, a thank-you letter to The Tobacco Institute for their help in getting the Pataki/McCaughey ticket elected in New York's 1994 gubernatorial race. (Previously)

Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics

KokuRyu — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:09:31 -0800

Caught smuggling, tobacco firms pay $1-billion in penalties. Two of Canada's big three tobacco companies will pay more than $1-billion in criminal and civil penalties for orchestrating the wholesale shipment to the United States of cigarettes that were smuggled back into Canada and resold at bargain prices. Tax-free cigarettes poured south (from Canada to the US) by the truckload, most commonly through the porous St. Regis Mohawk Akwesasne reserve, near Cornwall, Ont., which straddles the U.S.-Canadian border. From there they were distributed to smugglers who brought them back to Canada to be resold on the street and in convenience stores (tax free). Anti-smoking groups have mixed feelings about Big Tobacco fines in this instance. "If you or I had any intention of defrauding the government of a couple of million dollars, we'd be thrown in jail," said François Damphousse, the Non-Smokers' Rights Association's Quebec director. "Why aren't the executives facing such charges for having defrauded the government of billions of dollars?" (Key executives who orchestrated the smuggling operation in the early 90s have avoided jail time). But the bigger issue is a massive C$10 billion lawsuit brought by British Columbia against the tobacco industry. The province is suing for state-sponsored health-care costs allegedly racked up because of the effects of tobacco products...the trial is to start in late 2010...(and is seen) as an attempt by politicians to destroy an industry they regard as immoral. [The same two tobacco companies, RJN and Philip Morris, have gotten into trouble in the past for essentially smuggling cigarettes into the EU. More info here .][Also, how cigarettes funded the Balkan Wars.]

Bush is soft on tobacco

Postroad — Wed, 27 Nov 2002 04:57:48 -0800

Bush is soft on tobacco Just say No! Unless you are in cahoots with Big Tobacco. On issues such as this, I do not hold Bush or his party solely guilty but instead view it as The American Way--lobby groups, gifts, elections handouts--all of which blur party lines.

o2b — Thu, 13 Jun 2002 08:39:10 -0800

Why the tobacco industry feared The Patriot Act. Rep. Michael Oxley removed a provision involving money laundering from the bill at the behest of the White House and GOP whip Tom DeLay, under pressure from Big Tobacco.

skechada — Tue, 13 Nov 2001 12:32:15 -0800

Big Tobacco is buying exclusive rights to lung cancer drugs. I can't begin to count the ways that this is just wrong.