The unholy alliance between Philip Morris and the Obama Administration

Did you know Philip Morris/Altria actually supported Congress and the Obama administration's partial takeover of the tobacco industry?  They did, and they actually been actively lobbying for some sort of regulatory effort like this for years now.  So why are they doing this?

It's because Philip Morris is the largest maker of cigarettes and tobacco products in America, with over 50% market share on US cigarette sales.  They actively supported these regulations because they know they can absorb the costs of these regulations and are able to more effectively lobby in DC to protect themselves, smaller tobacco producers aren't able to so.  It was the smaller tobacco producers that opposed this bill, not Philip Morris.  An example,

One health expert told Slate this bill was “a dream come true for Philip Morris,” in part because the company “protects domination of the market and makes it impossible for potentially competitive products to enter the market.” For one thing, effectively banning advertising won’t hurt Marlboro much, but it will crush smaller brands. And adding government control benefits those companies with the best lobbyists.

So basically, Philip Morris is using DC as a bludgeon against their competitors.

And then of course, after most of Philip Morris' competitors fold or are swallowed up, then most everything is under one corporation's control, which makes it very easy to regulate further, or even ban.  Philip Morris is literally selling the rope with which they'll be hung.  If you smoke or chew any brand that is owned by Philip Morris, and here's a list of some of them,

Marlboro
Virginia Slims
Chesterfield
Parliament
Merit
Basic
Alpine
Cambridge
Bristol
Bucks
Collector's Choice
Commander
L&M
Benson & Hedges
Lark
Players
Saratoga
And any brand under the US Smokeless Tobacco Company, the two biggest are Copenhagen and Skoal

...you may want to consider switching brands.  If tobacco consumers are smart, they'll make Philip Morris pay dearly for this betrayal and their rotten competitive spirit.

What was that line about the merging of corporate and state power, again? 

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 11:25 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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