$120 Billion Tobacco Company Relief Act of 2005 passes without objection

[farmbo]

The Bush Administration's unprecedented and secretive "withdrawal" of it's $120 Billion (Yes...Billion with a "B") judgment demand in the US Justice Department's successful lawsuit against major tobacco companies, has effectively transfered $120 billion in wealth from our country's Medicaid reimbursement system to tobacco company executives and their stock holders; all without the necessity of a single congressional hearing or a public vote by our elected representatives.

Turning tort reform on it's head, the Bush administration--at its highest levels and in the dark of night -- unilaterally ordered the lawyers in the Justice Department's case to drop the $120 Billion demand--a slam dunk by all accounts-- and wrap up their case with an embarrassing request for a nominal damage award.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/16/politics/16tobacco.html?hp&ex=1118980800&en=5a00e8fdad7bee79&ei=5094&partner=homepage

The jury award would have been used to recover the government's Medicaid reimbursement costs, expended as a direct result of tobacco company fraud and misrepresentation during the 60s and 70s, which directly resulted in significantly higher lung cancer rates and attendant higher costs of treatment.

When it comes to funneling money to their political cronies, the Bush Administration's creativity knows no bounds.

[whistle]

1. Forgives criminal corporations

[WePurrsevere]

2. Disgusting...

The secret meetings, lies and BS is horrendous but this selling short and selling out the American people/taxpayers and their health is also abhorant and downright criminal imo. :mad:

I pretty much have ZERO sympathy for tobacco and ciggie companies since they LIED to and withheld information on health risks from people for years after they KNEW. :grr:

[Sgt. Baker]

3. Been paying for years

The tobacco companies have been paying out the nose for years. Much of which has funded anti smoking advertisements like thetruth which are nothing more that shock style propaganda. They have put out hundreds of billions of dollars since the initial settlement. You can't just keep bleeding them dry even if you disagree with their product and it's effects. They are still a compnay who has paid the price for the misinformation presented in the 60's and 70's about their product. Should we really make them pay again?

The Phillip Morris website has tons of links and information to help you quit smoking. It's actually better than most medical sites to help quit. This is the only company I know of that has a major portion of their website dedicated to getting people to stop using their product.

[MadHound]

4. Don't pity the tobacco companies friend, they're getting theirs!

Sure, they're having to put out ads and websites against tobacco, but you know, virtually all of it comes off the top of their taxes as advertising and charitable donations. They aren't actually paying those millions of dollars, you and I, the taxpayers are subsidizing it. We're the ones who pick up those tax bills that Big Tobbaco gets to duck.

And Phillip Morris, nor any other big US tobacco firm, is anywhere close to being bled dry. Sure, they've got a shrinking market here in the US, but being the good multinationals that they are, they've taken their games overseas, where they're killing off millions of people in South and Central Asia.

[Sgt. Baker]

5. not pity

I don't pity them. I respect their right to sell a product that people can choose to use or not. We are all well informed about the dangers of their products today and there is no longer a reason to attack them unless you have a personal thing against tobacco. The original settlement dealt with the companies witholding info about tobacco being dangerous. When do we stop holding them liable for this? They have corrected the problem and paid for it monetarily in one of the largest and most complicated settlements in history.

They did not get off for their crimes. They paid out the arse for it. Justice was served.

[paulk]

6. they haven't corrected the problem

their marketing is still aimed at teenagers, which is a large part of this trial. If they can get kids hooked young, it's much harder to quit.

The settlement would go toward smoking cessation programs for those already addicted.

[Sgt. Baker]

7. how is it

aimed at teenagers? I'm curious which advertisements are aimed at teenagers. Camel dropped Joe Camel in 1997 because he was considered a cartoon character that would influence children. That was the only actual advertisement that was ever in question about marketing toward kids.

[paulk]

8. the "how" of it is what the justice dept. is trying to prove

one of the things, anyway. Flavored cigarettes?

In the early fifties several studies were done that proved smoking causes cancer. In 1954 the Tobacco Institute was founded with the purpose of systematically casting doubt on the connection between cigarettes and health. The govt. is trying to prove a conspiracy between tobacco companies to lie to the public or mislead them about the risks associated with smoking (that's the fraud). The only time the tobacco industry admits anything is when forced to by the law - they have never, on their own, admitted that smoking causes cancer.

The trial took ten months, so it's really not possible to cover it in detail. It's obvious from the Bush administration's attempts to gut the injunction that they believe the Justice dept. made their case.

This hasn't been settled yet - the judge could take six months to decide - and she is not obligated to follow the advice of the senior Justice Dept. people. She could still give the 130 billion judgement.

The outrage here should be over the Bush administration's interference in the Justice Dept case, which is obviously political, not over injustices done to the tobacco industry.

[Sgt. Baker]

9. Tobacco settlement from 1998

The entire text of the 1998 settlement is here. They covered everything plus more.
http://www.ncsl.org/statefed/tmsasumm.htm

[indepat]

10. A microcosm of the past almost 53 months: it will get better and better

folks because $120 billion to this industry, $120 billion to that industry, $120 billion to the so-and-so industry, pretty soon you are talking real money.

[indepat]

11. Public corruption on a heretofore unfathomable scale replicating itself

over and over and over again.

[ticapnews]

12. Tobacco is an industry that calculates how much it saves by killing people

http://www.mindfully.org/Industry/Philip-Morris-Czech-Study.htm

Based on up-to-date reliable data and consideration of all relevant contributing factors, the effect of smoking on the public finance balance in the Czech Republic in 1999 was positive, estimated at +5,815 million CZK.

The results of the study show that the total public finance balance of smoking in the Czech Republic in 1999 was positive and amounted to +5,815 mil. CZK. This is a realistic estimate, which reflects the author’s best professional opinion. The variety of expert opinion and input data put this estimate to the range of +1,347 mil. CZK to +13,650 mil. CZK. Our principal finding is that the negative financial effects of smoking (such as increased health care costs) are more than offset by positive effects (such as excise tax and VAT collected on tobacco products). This conclusion would hold even if the indirect positive effects of smoking were neglected.

Public finance gained between 19,523 mil. CZK and 23,793 mil. CZK,with the realistic estimate of 20,270 mil. CZK, from smoking-related taxes. Public finance saved between 943 mil. CZK and 1,193 mil. CZK (realistic estimate:1,193 mil. CZK) from reduced health-care costs, savings on pensions and housing costs for the elderly -- all related to the early mortality of smokers. Among the positive effects, excise tax, VAT and health care cost savings due to early mortality are the most important. Increased health-care costs, absenteeism-related social costs, lost income tax related to early mortality, and fire-induced costs total between 13,849 mil. CZK and 16,605 mil. CZK, with the realistic estimate totalling 15,647 mil. CZK. Our findings are summarised in Figure 1.

A few highlights:

Savings on housing for elderly 28 mil CZK
Pension & soc. expenses savings due to early mortality 196 mil CZK
Health care costs savings due to early mortality 968 mil CZK

THEY ARE BRAGGING THAT THEY SAVE THE GOVERNMENT MONEY BY KILLING PEOPLE!

Early mortality = "People we killed with tobacco"

No, these companies do need to be bled dry. They need to be put out of business and their product removed from the market. If they marketed cyanide as a viable alternative ingredient in baking, would we say that if they put a warning label on it, that would be acceptable? They are selling poison, and then bragging that it's GOOD for society that they kill people because we don't have to pay retirement costs on the people they've killed.

Sorry, but if that doesn't fit the definition of evil, I don't know what does...