A Puff of Smoke

Everybody knows that multi-national corporations can be vile, disgusting creatures. Arms manufacturers, pharmaceuticals and finance companies toe a very fine line between right and wrong. But surely the worst are tobacco companies: they sell a deadly product which is extremely addictive and yet completely legal.

Across the western world they are facing increasing restrictions on their products and in turn their profits.

In New Zealand the major issues facing tobacco companies are increased tax, outdoor smoking bans, retail display bans and plain packaging.

And here in New Zealand Philip Morris Tobacco is fighting back. They have launched a website

https://www.myopinioncounts.co.nz/

to gather opinions from smokers on these key issues and use them to lobby the government to stop and roll back regulation.

The great thing is that anybody can register. So why not share with them your views on the disgusting products they manufacture and the harm they do to our society!

Note: I am often loathe to see governments restrict the personal freedoms of their citizens. I mean why shouldn't a grown adult, responsible for their own choices and actions be allowed to smoke tobacco. But in this case I feel the negative effects of smoking outweighs this, particularly the effect on children.

I don't know if I support an outright ban as the best solution. I would probably prefer to see a ban on nicotine first and see how many people kept smoking. We probably wouldn't even need a ban after that.