PotBSurri

BAT should learn to look at itself as a drug company rather than as a tobacco company." (April 1980 memo by a team of BAT scientists


"Do we really want to tout cigarette smoke as a drug" It is, or course." (February 1969 memo from a Philip Morris researcher)


"Classification of tobacco as a drug should be avoided at all costs." (1974 British American Tobacco memo).

The amount spent on promotions and marketing of cigarettes vastly exceeded what was spent on any of these (Tobacco Institute youth) programs." (Michael Ciresi, Attorney for the State of Minnesota, summarizing in court information showing that the three largest cigarette manufacturers spent $40.6 million on youth prevention programs from 1938 to 1994 or less than 2 tenths of 1% of the @26.9 billion spent on cigarette advertising, marketing and promotion during the same period.)

We are searching explicitly for a socially acceptable addictive product...The essential constituent is most likely to be nicotine or a direct substitute for it." (August 1979 memo by BAT on the search for a potential replacement for cigarettes)

ziggy wrote:I say that the political reality is still such that the WV legislature is not likely to ban the sale of tobacco in the state.

Those addicts still want their fixes!

We are searching explicitly for a socially acceptable addictive product...The essential constituent is most likely to be nicotine or a direct substitute for it." (August 1979 memo by BAT on the search for a potential replacement for cigarettes)

Stephanie wrote:I wonder how many tobacco companies are on the board of chambers of commerce in WV.

ziggy wrote:How about you do your own research, and I'll do mine?

Aaron wrote:I don't need to. I know what it will show.

Business Groups Launch Last-Minute Ad Blitz Against McGraw
Posted Thursday, October 30, 2008 ; 04:46 PM
Updated Thursday, October 30, 2008 ; 04:51 PM

West Virginia Chamber of Commerce is taking the lead in the campaign.
Story by Walt Williams

CHARLESTON -- A quartet of business-related organizations have launched a last-minute, $694,000 television advertisement campaign against state Attorney General Darrell McGraw in hopes of knocking the incumbent out of office on Election Day.

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce is taking the lead in the blitz, which also is being funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Tort Reform Association and West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.

According to finance reports filed with the state Secretary of State’s Office, the funding for the advertisements breaks down four ways:

• $47,458 from West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse;

• $330,682 from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce;

• $63,371 from the American Tort Reform Association;

• $253,345 from the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

How can the Stealth Tobacco Industry fight Tobacco Legislation? That is where the U. S. Chamber of Commerce comes in. Walmart does not have to dirty their hands and utter one word against this legislation. They simply let the U. S. Chamber do the fighting for them.

The U. S. Chamber of Commerce puts forward a totally absurd argument forward and provides cover for the Stealth Tobacco Industry. This way Walgreen's continues to make money, Bill Cosby continues to make money, the U. S. Chamber of Commerce continues to make money, and everybody is happy!

http://www.aspnet.net/USChamber/TobaccoIndustry.html

ziggy wrote:The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America (“the
Chamber”) is the world’s largest business federation, with an underlying
membership of more than three million companies and professional
organizations nationwide. It regularly advocates the interests of its members in matters before Congress, the Executive Branch, and the courts.

Stephanie wrote:I wonder how many tobacco companies are on the board of chambers of commerce in WV.

GOP Attorneys Generals Solicit Large Contributions From Corporations That Are Embroiled In Lawsuits
by George Lardner Jr. and Susan Schmidt

Republican state attorneys general are soliciting large contributions from corporations that are embroiled in--or are seeking to avert--lawsuits by states.
The Republican Attorneys General Association expects to collect $550,000--in chunks of $5,000 and up--from various companies gathered in Austin for a two-day session beginning today. The meeting features a "political briefing" Friday morning by Karl Rove, Texas Gov. George W. Bush's chief political strategist.

U.S. Chamber Won't Disclose Donors Without a Fight
Cross-Posted from MoJo Blog:

For years, big (and often unpopular) corporations like drug and tobacco companies, have used innocuous-sounding trade associations to lobby on their behalf, without having to disclose who picks up the tab. But a new law Congress passed earlier this year is designed to put an end to the practice. Under the threat of criminal penalties, the lobbying reform act requires trade groups to disclose members who contribute more than $5,000 in a quarter and who are involved in planning or directing lobbying activities. Not surprisingly, big businesses are not happy about this, particularly the criminal penalty part.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers fired the first shot across the bow yesterday, sending a letter to the Secretary of the Senate and the clerk of the House asking for "guidance" on how to interpret the new reporting requirements. They're essentially asking to exempt a lot of people who might otherwise be outed by the new law on the grounds that the law is an unconstitutional intrusion into their inner workings.

The chamber isn't fond of disclosure. For instance, the Institute for Legal Reform, the chamber's $40 million-a-year tort reform lobbying arm, failed to disclose to the IRS four years and millions of dollars worth of taxable spending on political races. A few years ago, it secretly bought its own newspaper in Madison County, Illinois, where it was spending millions to defeat liberal state court judges. The paper generated a regular stream of chamber propaganda that got treated like bona fide news until its owners got outed by the Washington Post. Despite the chamber's complaints about the evils of the American legal system, yesterday's letter is a pretty good indication that it will spend some time there before it ever gives up exactly how much radioactive industries contribute to its lobbying efforts.