You "progressives" don't give a flying rats anus about the 400,000 who die of smoking related illness each year... if you did, you would ban the product. This is just an excuse to nationalize yet another industry and expand government powers over a sector of the economy that brings in billions from overseas and billions in tax money domestically.
This is a legislative snatch and grab job, wrapped in a thin veil of compassion and sold to the public by the popular method of attacking an unpopular minority. Attack smokers, they are only 20% of the population and most of them are poor, so they cannot fight back against the "Progressive" attack machine. You fat people are a target too.... You cost us way too much money on healthcare with your high risk of heart problems, diabetes and cancer... You're getting attacked too.
Progressives just love attacking minorities and riling the majority into taking action against them... They don't care if its fair or just to do so, tyranny of a majority is just fine with them so long as the majority is on their side of the issue... When they find themselves in the minority of an issue and the power of the state works against them (I.E. Gay Marriage Bans), then, and only then, there must be something done to protect the rights of the minority.
Call it statism, call it Fascism, call it Progressivism... Its all the same thing, government usurping our individual freedoms and controlling our lives. We should pass a law regulating politicians, to limit the amount of Horse Hockey that passes betwixt their teeth and pours forth from their mouth. Demand their advertizing be truthful, since 99% of what they promise is just pillow talk to get elected.
American Tobacco companies should just close down domestically and move overseas. If they were to do that, it would send a clear message to the politicians that American business will not tolerate these injustices. Let the federal, state and local governments suffer the massive loss of tax revenue as a result and they will come begging, hat in hand, for the tobacco companies to move back to the US. If the Tobacco companies remain and tolerate the bearable tyrrany, the tyranny will only get worse.
