Cigarette Companies Versus the Government

If a person has been born, say, in just the last two decades, all this hoopla over the "explicit" cigarette warnings may cause feelings of sympathy towards the cigarette companies. The desire to yell "Foul" may be overwhelming if one is unaware of the history of tobacco, the increased health technology, the research of risks related to cigarettes right down to what the cigarette companies can expect from this law. 

It could be that everyone, young and old, believes that America is the only country in the world to have this law imposed upon him or her. The cigarette companies are not saying that they have had restrictions placed upon their marketing abilities since 1964. The cigarette companies do not make public what they have had to do in other countries for over four decades regarding warning labels and explicit images on their products. The government tells no one but the farmers that they pay them to grow tobacco. In fact, if tobacco does not sell at the market for over a penney of what the government demands as their "cut" that tobacco cannot even be sold! It has to be stored and saved until the next year! Who, other than the growers and buyers, are really aware of that information?

Is the American public truly aware of all that cigarette companies control? The enormous finger of these companies is truly frightening. If Americans were aware of and wanted to boycott all that cigarette companies own, give money to, support and own it might be impossible. The power that cigarette companies weild is stronger than any force, even the government itself.

Stronger than the government itself? Then why are the cigarette companies even suing the government? Why don't they just go in the white house and "make'em an offer they can't refuse?"

Perhaps the answer does lie in George Orwell's book, "1984."  Except that the face of the government is just that; a face. The true power comes from the companies themselves. If they stay behind the scenes they have more control and none of the responsibility, none of the actual work, none of the spotlight shining on them.  In other words, all this suing and crying about their fundamental constitutional fights is all for the camera; it's a fake.

What is the truth?

The Surgeon General in 1964 was instrumental in mandating the first warning labels for all cigarette packs. This was not only one label; it was a set of four different warnings and the manufacturers had to rotate them so all packs were evenly divided. 

This negates the cry of the manufacturers that it will cost them extra money to rotate the nine different warnings as the machines used to rotate the warnings are already in place.

The amount of employees will drop. All manufacturing for every cigarette is completely automated. A machine does absolutely everything.

Manufacturers will no longer support the government. And not having a big company involved in politics would be a bad thing; why?

Amazingly enough, America is not the first country to pass a law for explicit images and graphic warnings on packs. In fact, America is over eleven years behind over thirty-seven other countries. Also, becaue the portion of the European Union contains eighteen separate countries that number is nearly sixty! Brazil was the second country in the world to post grapic warnings on all packs. All of the countries mandate that at least 50% of every pack show the warnings and images. Some of the images are more than grapic, they are horrifying. One image is of a dead newborn baby, umbilical cord attached, lying next to half smoked cigarettes.

Will warning labels and graphic images decrease the number of smokers? Let's look at the past to find the answer.

In 1900 research by Brosch showed that cigarettes caused cancer in guinea pigs. Also in 1900 fours states outlawed the product altogether.

However in 1904 the "first laboratory synthesis of nicotine" was made an touted as medical breakthrough. The pendulum swings again in 1907 when many businesses refused to hire anyone who smoked.

However, smoking gained popularity again in 1910 with the addition of baseball cards in all the packs. So it goes, back and forth throughout the twentieth century. Along the way, cigarette companies began buying up non cigarette companies.

In fact, hundreds if not more food industries are now owned by the tobacco industry. Trying to boycott even a small percentage of their holdings would be like moving a mountain one teaspoon at a time. The companies are making so much money, billions of dollars, it is nearly obscene. Now that is something the companies work hard at keeping private!

What is the answer?

Continuing to talk, write, show what the act of smoking will cause. People must continue to make their own decisions. Attempting to force or coerce a person to do something against their will has never worked and never will work. 

Will changing the packaging change the world, decrease deaths, cancers or birth defects that can be traced to smoking? 

How about we just try?