I hate to "hate," but...
...there's not a much better word to describe the way I feel about the Tobacco companies.
People who know me know I can be opinionated on the things I have opinions on...but let me assure you and anyone who may read these boards that I may be able to influence that there is quite possibly NO POSITION IN THE WORLD, no debate nor issue, and no feeling (save those of love for my family) towards which I hold a stronger and more steadfast stance.
The Tobacco companies are scum. Anyone who isn't sickened by the history of the issue simply has no appreciation for their conduct, their actions, and the magnitude of the disease processes and how it impacts both the afflicted individual, their family, and society's entire structure. Health care spending alone JUST on tobacco-related diseases crushes everything else by leaps and bounds. It would blow your mind to know how much money would be available for other goods and GOOD USE if tobacco-induced illnesses were cut by as little as 10% tomorrow.
Cigarette smoke can kill in the worst of ways, in the very smallest of doses. Once again, there is NO SAFE LIMIT!!! ANY tobacco smoke, be it "first hand" or "second hand" or "pipe", any of it is particularly nasty and anyone who thinks otherwise is either ill-informed or selling tobacco...PERIOD. Being around it in any form is like playing the health lottery or russian roulette, and for every person who develops cancer there is a SINGLE MOMENT, a single drag that finally does the trick. Some people "win" young and some people beat the odds for years but if you do it and live long enough, it is only a matter of time before it'll get you (and it or some other tobacco-related fun tour gets the majority...most folks live long enough).
If you've no appreciation for the suffering tobacco-induced illness bring upon their victims you should take a trip down to your local hospital sometime and see if you can stomach an hour or so on the wards seeing someone cough up pieces of their lungs in between telling you how much they wish they had never started smoking...or seeing a 45 year old man wasted away to 70 pounds stuck on a respirator and oblivious to all existence while his wife holds his hand and tells him, with a shaky voice and tears in her eyes, that Jr. made 1st string on the varsity football squad and she can't wait 'til he "gets better" so he'll be able to throw the ball with Jr. again. Look in the eyes of a young man who's greatest pleasure in life is fronting for his band as he's told that his vocal cords will have to be removed and he'll be lucky if he can talk above a whisper afterwards. Just don't eat lunch before going and if you do, don't you dare let yourself realize that the tobacco dictators have not only gotten wealthy on these people, but are hard at work to "replace" the market share that will be lost when they die...or you might just throw up in disgust.
They (the companies) knew what they had for years and tucked the info away for fear of losing the alimighty profit. Their product is addictive in the very worst of ways and they knew this for years and tucked the info away for fear of losing DOLLARS. Then the medical community caught up with what the Tobacco companies already knew, pressed the issue, and met with DENIAL. Lies and corruption are the modus operandum for the very people whose pockets are lined with the revenues generated from cigarette sales. They've known who to target (young people...KIDS) because they're more likely to get addicted, and the earlier you've got someone hooked then the longer you've likely got a customer ("lifelong", remember?). They've held the microphone in their left hand to say they're "against it" while their right hand has been hard at work at new scams to suck kids into the addiction. They've refused to be held accountable and placed blame everywhere but on their shoulders even when finally forced to come somewhat clean. Then they've tried to buy their way out of responsibility. But there is no greater example of blood money in history...not in any Columbian cartel bank account nor any terrorist lockbox. Their business is to hook people by bull$#!+ sugar-coating campaigns that never mention the word "addiction," nor the ever-so-slight built-in side effect of virtual or pseudo-genocide.
So yeah, I really mean it.
~J~
