Un-****ing-believable

[dshpipes]

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-11-27/judge-orders-tobacco-companies-to-say-they-lied

 

[Thistleoak]

 

[idbowman]

Thistle beat me to it.

I guess, though, it's not all that surprising...just another step down this ridiculous path we're all on.

 

[Brewdude]

While it's easy to dismiss this out of hand since it seems to be focused on cigarettes, make no mistake and have no doubt about it - the long range plan is to eventually outlaw all tobacco use in whatever form.

This is just the beginning.


:x


NO CHEERS<

RR

 

[MisterE]

:suspect: :suspect:

Lame. Everyone knows the word's flat, too.

 

[kieveryuu]

Where is the face palm or head against the wall emoticon?... :no: oy.

 

[Steveaux]

Where is the face palm or head against the wall emoticon?... :no: oy.

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

I think this is a good idea, or at least it would have been a good idea 60 years ago. Today, it serves no legitimate purpose.

 

[Mr_Jeff]

I wonder if Judge Kessler is any relation to former FDA commissioner David Kessler? The day he quit, tobacco stocks soared.

 

[monbla256]

Something we all have to remember, the ANTI-TOBACCO folks are just that, ANTI-TOBACCO in ALL forms. There are just as many on BOTH sides of the aisle politically and no matter what you think, they are getting STRONGER. So not only does one participate in smoking you MUST get involved in the politics of all this to keep smoking. These people DO NOT recognize that there is ANY good form of tobacco use and wan't to completely STOP it's production in this country. That's why the big US tobacco firms are moving their production focus overseas so that they will be able to make their products in the future. And not only are these folks going after the end use products, they are starting to work at getting the tobacco farmers written out of any benificial legislation in the future. We are and will be linked to cig smokers because we use TOBACCO. They are not going away and niether is what they believe is the "trueth" . "Smoke 'em if ya got 'em" while you can :twisted: :twisted:

 

[joemelon]

I agree with one thing totally, Monbla. They're not going away, but hey...neither are smokers or tobacco users. We'll wax and wane but we're not going to disappear if more than 500 years of use and punishment for use is an indication. Once upon a time they burned smokers at the stake and now...anti-tobacco folk can only wish. :lol:

 

[planetary]

I think this is a good idea, or at least it would have been a good idea 60 years ago. Today, it serves no legitimate purpose.

I tend to agree. I don't think anyone disagrees with the result of the case (that big tobacco companies lied; they really did) nor about the core facts (that smoking an immoderately large amount of cigarettes is a horrible idea).

But it's an interesting judicial trend that may or not be new, but is increasingly relevant lately. Another example is a case from October in which a judge ordered Apple to apologize for brand-damaging slander to Samsung on their web site, and in newspapers.

 

[Anonymous]

I was recently doing some research into the state of Oregon's quarterly revenue forecasts, and I ran across an interesting statement. In the December 2012 Lottery Earnings Forecast, it says "[Lottery] revenue fell sharply in the wake of the recession and enactment of the smoking ban."

A smoking ban caused lottery revenue to fall? It seemed like a curious comment in an otherwise dry budget document, and so I dug into it a little.

The smoking ban mentioned in the state’s revenue forecast is the Oregon smoking ban expansion that went into effect in January 2009, prohibiting smoking in restaurants, bars and taverns. Anecdotal evidence spoke of significant loss of lottery revenue because of the ban, with video poker revenues in particular dropping dramatically.

A study cited by the Oregon Lottery in 2009 (pdf) projected a decline in video lottery revenue of $145 million to $270 million per biennium as a result of the smoking ban, a sizable amount. Lottery revenue in the budget coming out of the 2008 special legislative session, before the smoking ban and recession, had been around $1.3 billion. The latest total forecast for lottery revenue is $1.076 billion for the current biennium.

Through guest columns on topics of their own choosing, Community Writers seek to expand the online conversation about matters of local concern.
The study also noted "we should keep in mind that smoking and gambling tend to go together," citing a 2006 Oregon Population Survey that showed only 8 percent of non-smokers play video lottery games -- while 25 percent of smokers play video lottery games.

Any smoking ban impact on video lottery also has a big impact on overall lottery revenues, because video lottery makes up almost 90 percent of lottery earnings -- significantly more than other lottery games like Megabucks, Powerball or Scratch-its. And those video lottery revenues come from a small group of players. A 2010 article by The Oregonian reported that half of lottery profits from video games come from about 10 percent of the players, who each lose $500 or more a month.

This quirk of smoking’s relation to lottery revenue underscores the complexity of public policy making. A law intended to help the health of Oregon workers also had the unintended consequence of reducing the state's lottery revenues, which in turn reduces the amount of state money available for things like schools and parks. It also heightens the unease some Oregonians already have with the lottery in general as a revenue source.

http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2012/12/oregon_smoking_ban_has_uninten.html

:cat: :face: :study:

 

[bosun1]

This quirk of smoking’s relation to lottery revenue underscores the complexity of public policy making. A law intended to help the health of Oregon workers also had the unintended consequence of reducing the state's lottery revenues, which in turn reduces the amount of state money available for things like schools and parks. It also heightens the unease some Oregonians already have with the lottery in general as a revenue source.

:cat: :face: :study: [/quote]

The government knows that it is the sinners who fund it!