I think I'm more in shock than anything else at the moment. I've been reading some of the court decisions as pertains to BT (Big Tobacco) and I'm totally flummoxed. This is justice?
I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised about a politician, former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, representing and making argument for mercenary reasons. That's what politicians do. But I thought the justice system was supposed to be above all that.
Naive of me, isn't it?
In March, 2003 Madison County judge Nicholas Byron ordered a judgement for compensatory damages against Phillip Morris. The argument against BT was that the companies advertised "light cigarettes" as being less harmful. Obviously, there is no such thing as a less harmful cigarette. Ergo people had been misled about a product and enticed to buy it on false pretenses, and as a result were placed in harm's way.
So now the judgement against the BT companies is reversed because, and I quote...
The state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-2 decision that the Federal Trade Commission specifically allowed companies to characterize their cigarettes as “light” and “low tar,” so Philip Morris did not improperly mislead customers about the health impacts of its cigarettes.
“If the FTC has specifically authorized the use of the terms .... PM USA [Philip Morris] may not be held liable under the Consumer Fraud Act, even if the terms might be deemed false, deceptive or misleading,” Justice Rita Garman wrote for the majority.
Alright -- so tell me, who the hell do we have to go see to get this nonsense stopped!?!?! Who the hell do these people think they're fooling? What, does the FTC have to reverse its wording and issue a different statement? WHAT!? Just tell us and we can get the ball rolling!
I'm absolutely stunned at the lengths people will go in order to be obtuse enough to escape making a decision that is actually right rather than politcally correct. And no, I'm not talking about a question of morality, I'm talking about what is RIGHT.
If I developed a product, and in order to use that product as intended one would have to ignite it - and I had created this product so cleverly that, when ignited, the chemicals inside my created product would cause chemical addiction - documented and with no doubt or room for question my product caused a chemical addiction when used as intended - it wouldn't see one store shelf.
Why? Because the FDA would ban it from being sold. As they rightfully should! Barbituates exist for a purpose, but you're not able to legally walk into a local shop and buy them without a prescription. Why? Because when used as directed, they can become chemically addictive. A licensed physician has to prescribe them to you and oversee their use.
How do BT Companies escape this type of regulation?
It's time to quit worrying about political correctness and how many jobs will disappear. The salient point is that lives are disappearing because these products are chemically addictive and are made to be even more so than they would be if sold in pure tobacco form!
Wake up people! We're talking lives! Let's see - do we rule in favor of 2 million jobs, or in favor of 2 million lives?
DUH!