http://www.csb.gc.ca/eng/pdf/10psp.pdf
check it out
quite startling when i saw it this morning - what the heck is jer doing in our lunchroom?
How did they get that picture of me? I think I'll have to sue!!
he he he...that's funny....
Feds: Cigarette Makers Lied for 50 Years
Feds: Cigarette Makers Lied for 50 Years
9/21/04
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cigarette makers lied and tried to confuse the public about the dangers of smoking for 50 years, the U.S. government said on Tuesday as its $280 billion case against the industry went to trial.
In opening arguments in the biggest and most ambitious racketeering case in history, the government said a 1953 meeting of tobacco industry executives at New York's Plaza Hotel was the starting point for a conspiracy designed to cast doubt on links between cancer and cigarettes.
"This case is about a 50-year pattern of misrepresentation, half-truths and lies by the defendants that continues to this day," U.S. Justice Department attorney Frank Marine told a federal court.
The 1999 lawsuit launched under President Bill Clinton targets Altria Group Inc. (MO) and its Philip Morris USA unit; Loews Corp.'s (LTR) Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group (CG); Vector Group Ltd.'s (VGR) Liggett Group; Reynolds American Inc.'s (RAI) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and British American Tobacco Plc (BATS.L) unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.
The companies have denied the government's allegations and say they have drastically changed their marketing practices since 1998, when they signed a landmark settlement with state attorneys general that severely restricts marketing and subjects cigarette makers to oversight.
Tobacco companies say the past misconduct alleged by the government does not mean that they are likely to commit fraud in the future, a showing they say is necessary to justify the $280 billion financial penalty sought by the government.
"Cigarettes are not sold the way they were sold in the past," Philip Morris attorney William Ohlemeyer said outside the courthouse after the government made its presentation. "The best way to predict the future is to look at how cigarettes are sold today."
As the trial's first day continued, stocks of tobacco companies were mostly lower, including Altria, down 1.9 percent to $46.19 a share on the New York Stock Exchange and Reynolds American Inc., down 2.4 percent at $68.24 a share.
The trial is expected to last about six months and feature more than 100 witnesses.
MEMO CITED
In its opening arguments, the government said it would prove that the industry constructed a huge public relations operation designed to sow confusion about the health affects of smoking.
Justice Department attorney Sharon Eubanks cited a 1964 memo from a Philip Morris executive that said the industry had to provide "a psychological crutch and a self rationale to continue smoking."
In January, 1964 the U.S. Surgeon General issued a landmark report outlining the risks of smoking that briefly cut into tobacco sales.
Citing dozens of similar internal industry documents, government attorneys charged that the cigarette makers misled the American public about whether tobacco was addictive, and whether it caused cancer and other diseases.
They also said they would show that the industry manipulated nicotine levels and marketed cigarettes to teenagers, even as they publicly denied both practices, and that the companies suppressed and destroyed potentially incriminating documents and research.
Justice Department officials want the industry to give up $280 billion worth of past profits and seek tougher rules on marketing, advertising and warnings on tobacco products.
Cigarette makers say a $280 billion penalty would put them out of business and have challenged the government's demand.
An appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in November on the penalty issue and some industry analysts think settlement talks could follow if the government loses.
Marine, of the Justice Department, told Kessler that the figure represents only a third of what the government could have sought.
"If it's money obtained by fraud, it's not their money," Marine said.
Lawyers for the cigarette makers are scheduled to respond with their opening statement after the government's presentation.
"We're prepared to offer a very detailed response to what you saw today," Ohlemeyer said outside the courthouse.
Later in the week, the government is scheduled to call former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler as its first witness.
In testimony already filed with the court, Kessler has described how the FDA found that tobacco companies were manipulating levels of nicotine in cigarettes.
The former FDA commissioner is not related to the judge.
Some anti-smoking groups fear the administration of President Bush may want to settle the case, but Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a statement that the Justice Department looked forward to recapturing industry profits and preventing the marketing of cigarettes to young people.
hello all
its me ...your friendly neighbourhood hippy..
its been a while since i stuck my head in here..
thought id say hello and catch up with the thread
nice to see all you ex-smokers are sticking with it
its now seven and a half months since i last quit and i feel great..still dream of smokes though.
a few thoughts :
i went through all sorts of trouble stopping...
chest pains, stomach cramps, nausea, headaches,
emotional turbulance (anger and depression) but it all passed eventually... is more reasons not to start again....
plus i was spending £10-25 ($20-50) (15-40) a day on smoke (cigs and weed)
so in all this time ive saved enough money to pay off all my credit card debts (first time in years) and save up enough cash to go on holiday to greece for a month in 3 weeks time
the joy of it all
peace and love 2u
Hi, Col, glad to see you.
Col
Col, a long vacation in Greece. WOW!
Several years ago, a friend of mine spent a summer month on one of the Greek Islands in a writing study class. She spent her days wandering through the streets writing about what she saw and whom she met.
I enjoyed reading her journal upon her return. It would be fun to read your's.
BBB
Technically, it has been 1 month since I quit!!! 4 weeks....
On the 30th, it will be the official anniversary. Whoo hoo!!!
How is everyone else doing?
Rock on girl! I lost track how long it's been... but a while!
Kristie, that's great news!
Congrats to all who've quit and are working on it.
How you doing, Bill in the face of the the recent disaster?
Oh and the hurricanes, too?
Heh...
Re: Craven and Bi-Polar Bear have inspired OCCOM BILL to fin
You've come a long way baby!
OCCOM BILL wrote:QUIT SMOKING!
I recently, quite hypocritically, told Craven he should put the cigarettes down, while he still can. As if any of us can't. I hereby inform you that Friday, June 11th 2004 will be my final day as a smoker. When the clock strikes midnight, I will destroy whatever stock of cigarettes I still have, scrub the ashtrays clean and put them away for future guests.
In the event I fail; I hereby authorize BPB (and whoever would like to join him) to address me as "pussy", until such time as I succeed.
<snip>
If anyone would like to join me on this historic day of Friday, June 11th 2004, please do. The more the merrier. If not, that's cool. I wrote this for me. One of the few things I hate more than being a hypocrite is to break my word, so the more I talk the better my chances of success.
Best quitting quote I've ever heard:
"It is important to remember that any discomfort you may feel is because you started, not because you quit."
(Feel free to do whatever you wish with this thread. I will check back in periodically to rant, bitch, moan, cry, complain, etc, etc, etc!)
You picked a hell of a hurricane season to test your resolve with.
Good work, cheesehead!
Congrats to all our non-smokers!
Re: Craven and Bi-Polar Bear have inspired OCCOM BILL to fin
sozobe wrote:How you doing, Bill in the face of the the recent disaster?
Oh and the hurricanes, too?
Heh...
That was a bit of a disaster, eh? But I'm told Brett looked awesome and our D folded in part because we were missing Carroll and the Predator as well as Big Grady. Remember how much our D improved just from signing Grady? I'll have to study up and watch some film to see for myself (damn it I hate missing Packer Games
), but I don't think we need to panic just yet. Perhaps our luck will improve after you put on your cheese! (crosses fingers tightly).
ehBeth wrote:You picked a hell of a hurricane season to test your resolve with.
Good work, cheesehead!
Thank you, thank you. Yes, ehBeth, it's official now. I am a non-smoker. I feel like I've climbed a stair for every cig I ever smoked and the result is a satisfied brand of tired... not chest pain and shortness of breath. At the risk of sounding like one of those hated born again preachers: those of you still smoking are behaving like fools. Get over it. You will be glad you did (sorry
I know full well how asinine that sounds :wink: ).
So do I, smile.
And it is none of anybody's business. I know cases can be made that it is, but it isn't, in my humble opinion.
And many of us are cheersquadphobic, icky poo, shying from (I think) a sense of invasion of privacy. (though I speak up and cheer.)
To those who don't want to hear syncophantic sounding cheers, just say so, we'll shut up.
Those helped, say so too.
I admire Bill quitting and staying quit in this hurricane season. Ever distanced.
Occom
Occom, my son is selling his California home and moving to Florida. He is looking at homes in the New Tampa area. What do you know about that area with regard to hurricane damage?
I keep asking him if he still wants to move to Florida and he always says yes---to be near my daughter-in-law's sons and their grandson. I hope they are not making a mistake.
BBB
Re: Craven and Bi-Polar Bear have inspired OCCOM BILL to fin
I think that I fit that description now too...non-smoker...sounds kinda funky, eh?
OCCOM BILL wrote:it's official now. I am a non-smoker. I feel like I've climbed a stair for every cig I ever smoked and the result is a satisfied brand of tired... not chest pain and shortness of breath. At the risk of sounding like one of those hated born again preachers: those of you still smoking are behaving like fools. Get over it. You will be glad you did (sorry
I know full well how asinine that sounds :wink: ).
Re: Craven and Bi-Polar Bear have inspired OCCOM BILL to fin
OCCOM BILL wrote:it's official now. I am a non-smoker. I feel like I've climbed a stair for every cig I ever smoked and the result is a satisfied brand of tired... not chest pain and shortness of breath. At the risk of sounding like one of those hated born again preachers: those of you still smoking are behaving like fools. Get over it. You will be glad you did (sorry
I know full well how asinine that sounds :wink: ).
I don't drink since more than 20 years, have changed between a non-smoker and heavy smoker a couple of times (= non-smoking for years, starting again with 30+).
It's everyone's own dicission - and there are more 'foolish' around in the world than drinling and smoking, IMHO.
I feel ashamed even to look inside this thread
