Okay, so this week Ottawa and the Supreme court has made a decision against the provinces in a court case that could have seen the Provinces get help paying for health care related to health care issues brought about by smokers using more of the provincial health care system. The issue on the supreme courts plate was weather or not the federal government, whom takes a HUGE bite of each dollar made in selling cigs, should be on the hook to help out the provinces when they had to pay for the damage that this ever so dangerous practice of smoking brought about.
Now everyone seems to have a point of view in this stupid law suit that should have been a no brainer…but as will all politics and law in this land its way more stupid than it should be…and than we thought it could be! Okay, so BC saw fit to sue Imperial tobacco…the largest cigarette company in Canada trying to get back some of the money that they pay out each year for the multitude of health issues that smoking can cause…
The tobacco company is saying that its strange that the federal government makes as much money on taxes as they do selling cancer sticks…and yet they are off the hook when it comes to paying back the province for the health issues that come up from partaking in DEATH sticks. Funny how they don’t admit that they cause death, cancer, emphysema and a plethora of other medical issues and illnesses in their brief. Not to mention that Cigarettes are one of the only products sold that, when used according to the directions, will result in the consumer becoming toxic, chronically ill or dead! And yes, I stole that last quote from Dr. Max Snyder!
The Tobacco Company further says that its funny how the federal government is found not responsible when they have been completely complacent in creating laws and standards over Cigarettes. The Tobacco Company sates that the government of Canada has been a “Partner” in and key player in the sales of tobacco since the 1960’s. Again, not admitting to the millions and millions of deaths caused by their product nor to the BILLIONS AND TRILLIONS it will cost us to deal with the aftermath of the sale and use of cigarettes.
Ani smoking advocates are happy that the feds are off the hook because now the big business tobacco companies are on the hook for the whole shebang! They hope it effects the over head of the company greatly. They don’t mind letting the government off the hook, a government who has collected roughly half of the cost associated with buying a carton.
Now if we associate guilt by the amount of profit each participant makes in salses of this product than there are a TONE of people as guilty as the tobacco company. On a carton of Death bombs in Manitoba we see the hefty price of $44.38 per 200. This may be a tad out of date since the price has jumped since the price was posted in 1997! Of that $44.38…the province itself take $16, while the Feds take in $13.58, the store selling the product makes a whopping $2.38 and Those EVIL and wealthy distributers who produce and sell this plant born death bomb…well they rake in $9.69!
That’s right the company that is being sued by the province makes LESS than the province suing them! Now this sounds an awful lot like double dipping to me…and kind of like a pimp trying to collect on any disease his “workers” start to spread! I mean come on, if they were genuinely upset and worried about the disease and health care, the suffering and death…why not make it illegal?? Oh, I forgot…the money they make up until now far exceeded the money they had to pay out in medical bills.
What the article of law did not say, and should have was that everyone in this little death pact is guilty of something and the only ones suffering are the people smoking…and trust me they are not without blame as well! This is not some anti smoking rant, hell smoke your faces off…Darwin would probably love to sit back and watch how we quell the flock with smokes!
So, for the government that is bitching about the increasing medical charges, please…Really….you make the most money off the sale of a product KNONW to cause death, disease, pain, suffering..and No I don’t mean MTV! The government knew in the 60’s that smoking the flaming fag of death (and no that is not a gay joke…morons) would kill you! They knew that this would lead in this direction and not only did they not stop it…they profited from it! The tobacco company not only knew it was addictive, they counted on it…and the deaths, well they can afford a few million dollar suits a year! And the smokers….well you are not off the hook people. You KNOWINGLY smoke…You knowingly sit down and put a cig in the shoot, light it and breath in that smoke…And no, I don’t get it….and yes I have tried it.
The end result is that if we as humans don’t mind killing off some of the population then let it roll, if the government benefits from the sale then they should have to pay for their end of the business arraignment, and if the death dealing tobacco company pays out 30-40% of its profits in civil suits then so be it. The alternative is way smarter…lets see make the sale of smokes illegal, ban them from ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE homes. Make them as illegal to have as Cocaine and the time served in Jail as ardent for those selling the smokes…and find another more human way for the government to make money off our stupidity!
Here are a few facts about smoking you probably did not know.
1.Cigarettes are the single-most traded item on the planet, with approximately 1 trillion being sold from country to country each year. At a global take of more than $400 billion, it’s one of the world’s largest industries.
2.Cigarettes contain arsenic, formaldehyde, lead, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia and 43 known carcinogens.
3.In the early 1950s, the Kent brand of cigarettes used crocidolite asbestos as part of the filter, a known active carcinogen.
4.Urea, a chemical compound that is a major component in urine, is used to add “flavor” to cigarettes.
5.In most countries around the world, the legal age for the purchase of tobacco products is now 18, raised from 16, while in Japan the age minimum is 20 years old.
6.Contrary to popular social belief, it is NOT illegal to smoke tobacco products at any age. Parents are within the law to allow minors to smoke, and minors are within the law to smoke tobacco products freely. However, the SALE of tobacco products is highly regulated with legal legislation.
7. Scientists claim the average smoker will lose 27 years of their life due to smoking. This however does not necessarily mean that a smoker will die young – and they may still live out a ‘normal’ lifespan.
8. Cigarettes can contain more than 4,000 ingredients, which, when burned, can also produce over 200 ‘compound’ chemicals. Many of these ‘compounds’ have been linked to lung damage.
9. Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds after smoke is inhaled. It has been found in every part of the body and in breast milk.
18. Sugar approximates to roughly 20% of a cigarette, and many diabetics are unaware of this secret sugar intake. Also, the effect of burning sugar is unknown.
10. ‘Lite’ cigarettes are produced by infusing tobacco with CO2 and superheating it until the tobacco ‘puffs up’ like expanding foam. The expanded tobacco then fills the same paper tube as ‘regular’ tobacco.
11. Smokers draw on ‘lite’ and menthol cigarettes harder (on average) than regular cigarettes; causing the same overall levels of tar and nicotine to be consumed.
12. ‘Lite’ cigarettes are manufactured with air holes around the filter to aerate the smoke as it is drawn in. Many smokers have learned to cover these holes with their fingers or their lips to get a stronger hit.
13. The immune systems of smokers has to work harder every day than non-smokers. As a result, a smokers’ blood will contain less antioxidants, although a smokers immune system may be quicker to respond to virus attacks due to its more active nature.
14. Smokers generally report a variety of after-effects; such as calmness, relaxation, alertness, stimulation, concentration and many others. In fact, smoking will produce a different effect in each individual depending on ‘what they expect to get’; turning the cigarette into the worlds most popular placebo (satisfying the brains hunger for nicotine being the only ‘relaxing’ factor). The smoker will then use these expectations as a means to continue the habit.
15. Seen as the biggest business alive right now…the governments of most countries benefit the most from selling and taxing cigarettes in their country …and the Percent of sales they receive is only matched by North Americas other addiction….Gas!
