The Tobacco Industry produces more than 2 billion kilograms of manufacturing waste annually.
More than 60% of tobacco-growing land in located in low-income countries where tobacco is cultivated as a cash crop for export. The countries are too poor to import food, so the tobacco crops prevent them from properly feeding their citizens.
Altria (Parent Company of Phillip Morris) is the third largest political contributor in the U.S. Over $35 million was spent on political campaigns and candidates over the last decade. Big Tobacco gives millions dollars a year to neo-conservative political candidates.
Big tobacco tests its products on animals. Industry documents show they drug animals such as cats, guinea pigs, dogs and apes with crack as part of the experiments.
Smoking causes $96.7 billion worth of health care expenditures each year in the U.S. A big chunk of that is paid with that taxes that you pay.
Since 1987, Big Tobacco has increased their spending on advertising and promotions every year, reaching $250.8 million in 2005.
A tobacco executive said that smoking is only as addictive as "sugar and salt and Internet access."
In 1978, one tobacco executive said that "unhappiness causes cancer."
As late as 1999, tobacco companies placed in-store advertising signage at a child’s eye level.
According to the New York Times, in 1998, one tobacco executive said, "Nobody knows what you’d turn to if you didn’t smoke. Maybe you’d beat your wife."
As long ago as 1969, a tobacco company executive agreed to "avoid advertising directed to young people." Yet 10 years later, they supplied their products to be
featured in The Muppet Movie and in 1994 said “Cherry Skoal is for somebody who likes the taste of candy, if you know what I’m saying.”
Big Tobacco labels their cigarettes with things like light, ultra-light and low-tar even though they can be as deadly and addictive as regular cigarettes.
Tobacco companies’ products kill 36,000 people every month. That’s more lives than there are public garbage cans in NYC.
In 1997, a Big Tobacco executive said, under oath, that he believed Gummy Bears were addictive like cigarettes.
Problems with self-esteem. Has menial, boring job. Emotionally insecure. Passive-aggressive. Probably leads fairly dull existence. Grooming not a strong priority. Lacks inner resources. Group conformist. Non-thinking. Not into ideas. Insecure follower. These are all terms taken from Big Tobacco’s files that have been used to describe different groups of potential customers for their deadly, addictive products.
In 1985, one tobacco vice president wondered, in reference to smoking-related deaths, if we should ban sleep since according to him the majority of people die in their sleep.
A tobacco company once gave $125,000 worth of food to a charity, according to an estimate by The Wall Street Journal. Then, they spent well over $21 million telling people about it.
When asked why none of the company’s executives smoked, an RJ Reynolds representative responded. “We don’t smoke this shit. We only sell it. We reserve the right to smoke for the young, the poor, the black, and the stupid.”
