Interesting comment by Phillip Morris USA

[Kate51]

Hi to all, so many people are talking about the heating frenzy on our shores to 'Stop that junk' and teach these 3rd class "citizens" that they can't make their own choices and import those poison darts.
Hey, I am a 62-year-old Grandmother who has smoked for 44 years..that is, until Mar. 9th when I received my NPro!! That was the last day I tasted a cigarette. And bought a couple other e-smoking devices to play with. Before that, we smoked the "bargain" brands (floor sweepings), then went to "roll your own" to save money, and Big Brother said NO, gotta pay more. Now the electronic cigarettes are catching on beyond belief, (they've been around for twenty years or more, didn't anybody see them coming????) I'm loving it, and Big Brother just wants his "cut" from our pockets for the nasty "DRUG" nicotine. They care less about out health, unless you're like me without Health Care Coverage!!!! Hey, it was OK to buy Patches at $61 for a month's worth, or those stupid "INHALERS" ($45) that a morbid skunk said would be good to quit on. But not now, we can still have our Nicotine in vapor, and that is just not going to be tolerated, so get ready. I have bought ahead, so when the BIG market police shut everyone down and cut us all off, I will have time to go to Washington and drop dead right on the Senate Floor due to low blood pressure and Nicotine deprivation. What do they call "Torture?" This is it, folks. Torturing buyers of creative entrepeneurs who thought this might be a good "workaround" is a great way to pay down our massive depressive national debt you know. Jeez, is this world crazy or what. Wait a minute, next they will legalize Marijuana "sp" and maybe crack and .... too, with a 500% tax that also would be helpful. Mark my words, this is all smoke and mirrors and will all go away as soon as the use tax can be applied. I wish I could get Nancy Polosi alone some afternoon and invite her to a tea-bag party, e-cigarettes provided, and get her good and loaded. Somebody got a good video cam for rent? She will be wretching for the next two weeks, I want to see that. She wouldn't know what to do with all that pollution, now, would she?????? (They (dems) sponsor that out in California.) Her face may go back to the original bagging before her botox.
Yes, I am mad, and not going to play those stupid games anymore. I am too old, know too much. This is all not for our own good, it's for our demise. Frankly, nicotine to me is about as toxic as caffeine, which I also use in huge quantity, which is why I could never give up nicotine, what's a good cup of coffee without a smoke to go with it. They can all go to hell. No good to write letters, if you do that they will just have your addresses, so watch yourself. Don't email them, they will raise the internet taxes. Just let them all crash and burn in place, so we can just get on with living. Just ignore them all. God is going to punish them some day.

I'm anonymous, and I live in Argyle Wi. The air is good here! No more tar, butts, ashes, brown teeth, yellow fingers, bad smells. After 44 years, I have finally found a breath of FRESH AIR (containing a minuscule amount of nicotine, of course). And I enthusiastically recommend it!

 

[Windoze321]

In my opinion, the big tobacco companies will do just that, buy out all the e-cig makers. Then they'll just shut it down and throw away the keys. They'll buy up all the patents and no one will be able to make them, and that will be that. Best way to beat the competition is to eliminate it. If they did the e-cigs themselves it'd mean a whole lot of new manufacturing plants and all sorts of things. Dealling with returns and electronics... Easier to buy and kill.......

 

[LaceyUnderall]

In my opinion, the big tobacco companies will do just that, buy out all the e-cig makers. Then they'll just shut it down and throw away the keys. They'll buy up all the patents and no one will be able to make them, and that will be that. Best way to beat the competition is to eliminate it. If they did the e-cigs themselves it'd mean a whole lot of new manufacturing plants and all sorts of things. Dealling with returns and electronics... Easier to buy and kill.......

Your theory seems reasonable except for one thing: Why would they buy out their competition when they can simply ban them out?

 

[TropicalBob]

Lacey is likely right. Big Tobacco markets .. tobacco products. At least one member of that killer fraternity -- Philip Morris, Altria -- has its special bill about to pass Congress to hand tobacco control over to the FDA, with a clause that will effectively kill e-smoking devices and liquid until massive and expensive studies are done -- and then those studies will be rejected. Easier to ban than to buy. Cheaper, too.

Even the money trail will show how a ban will drive smokers back to the profitable smoking of cigarettes, with its huge taxes and high profit margins. Bet on a ban, not a buyout.

 

[LaceyUnderall]

Again, I will repost this in this thread because it is just too important to not read. And if you aren't going to read it, you probably shouldn't be posting in this thread at all... just my .02 cents.

Bridging the Divide: A Shared Interest in a Coherent National Tobacco Policy

For those who don't want to read it, even though you should want to educate yourself, here are the cliff notes:

2000: We at Altria know that our business is going to the shi*ter. We have two major issues fighting against us: Public Perception and the FDA wanting to control nicotine/tobacco. Since we know that we can't fix public perception because well, our leadership until 2000 has been a bunch of weasels, we have decided that the only way to survive is to jump in bed with the FDA and allow them to regulate (with our help of course).

 

[lec666]

if phillip morris gobbles up the e-cig market, e-cigs will become just as addictive and
unhealthy as regular cigarettes. it's the only way they know how to keep consumers
coming back.(by keeping consumers addicted)

the now tobacco tax will soon enough morph into a nicotine tax if this happens.

 

[katink]

I don't think Ruyan is in to that Windoze... thank god...

But here is another interesting and strange something I came across... what do you all think? A piece of a puzzle of what's going on behind the scenes of BT? Or just an ignorant newcomer diving in for bucks (and boy are they ignorant then... e-cigs existence seems to have passed them by??)

It's pretty strangely worded... don't know what to make of it really. Intruiging though... and they reckon it will cost as much us smoking analogs (ouch)..
Smokefree Innotec Sets Production Timeframe

 

[lec666]

I don't think Ruyan is in to that Windoze... thank god...

But here is another interesting and strange something I came across... what do you all think? A piece of a puzzle of what's going on behind the scenes of BT? Or just an ignorant newcomer diving in for bucks (and boy are they ignorant then... e-cigs existence seems to have passed them by??)

It's pretty strangely worded... don't know what to make of it really. Intruiging though... and they reckon it will cost as much us smoking analogs (ouch)..
Smokefree Innotec Sets Production Timeframe

just another e-cig vendor......

 

[katink]

Smokefree Innotec has applied for international patents through its Swiss legal representatives.

Doesn't fit with a vendor. And a bit too much legalese for a vendor too imo. But time will tell I guess.

 

[LaceyUnderall]

Doesn't fit with a vendor. And a bit too much legalese for a vendor too imo. But time will tell I guess.

Katink - Just so you know... I think you are on to something here. I have been looking through your little find all day and well, some interesting names keeping popping up. I can't make the complete circle yet, and maybe I won't... but I will tell you here are some names you should be looking out for:

Rauchless, ParaFin, Sportsaq (I note this because this used to be Innotec and well, check out the fraud stuff with them), Swedish Match (and yes, this would be PM's European version of US Smokeless), Spire Investment, Courtside Acquisition (this is the break in the connection) and of course, Altria.

Very interesting... If you are working on this and wouldn't mind sharing any leads, I have a ton for you if you want them. PM me.

And the Rauchless website hardly looks like someone getting ready to launch the new and latest smoking device.

 

[taz3cat]

there is a lot of bad stuff in companys that are trading in the Pink Sheets: SFIO. the Co's are below the OTC stock, better know as penny stocks or pure junk.

 

[ChainSmkr]

If involvement of Phillip Morris means better quality control and better, more reliable and consistent yet cheaper product, I'm all for it. They certainly won't roll over and die, and they'll try best to put themselves in a "good" position - and they have money and resources to pull this off.

Agreed. They've been trying to develop a smokeless cigarette for years without success. I don't understand why tobacco companies (or even big pharm) aren't all over this for their piece of the pie - especially since tobacco sales have to be taking a hit with the increased tax/cost to consumers.

A big company involvement is probably the best way to push this product through if we can catch their interest. And, as you said, they certainly have the resources and influence needed to get the job done (and maybe get us a proper customs import code in the interim). A potentially higher price is a fair trade for a safer product.

 

[katink]

Ah, you found a BT-link then, if you found Altria - I was searching specifically for links to BT and/or BP as originators, yes. This didn't 'smell' right to me - strange things about it so worth some digging. But I had only searched superficially so far (did find part of what you mention here), so you are clearly ahead of me on this. I'll do some more digging as soon as I can find a bit of time for it from this side of the pond, seeing some differences in searchengine-results we had allready found earlier. Anyhow, my (so far unsubstantiated) 'gut-feeling' does indeed think that this is somehow a piece of a bigger puzzle. I'll certainly PM you if I find anything (or need more leads to get into), thanks Lacey

@Chainsmoker and Lachesis: Well, how about the reason that BT and BP aren't all over e-cigs, perhaps could be they HAVE allready invented a different device; aren't quite far enough to bring it to market yet; so desperately only want e-cigs OUT - to make room for their own product (with the same price as real cigs, so much much higher prices then e-cigs...) without e-cigs or smokeless stuff threatening to take part of 'their' perceived market away from them... that's the kind if thing Lacey and I could be digging for here, for instance.

 

[Bruceslog]

If Phillip Morris started making e-cigs, they would add their 2,000 other chemicals to the juice to make it more addictive. Like they do with their regular cigarettes...

I would NEVER purchase or use a e-cig OR Juice from Phillip Morris.
EVER.

 

[LaceyUnderall]

And let's also not forget that PM held the original US patent for ecigs and it conveniently ran out this year. I have always been curious as to why they did that and why they didn't fight Ruyan. The more and more we dig, the more and more I begin to realize maybe why they have been so quiet.

Let the little companies get the market up and do the hard work, eliminate the competition (with a conveniently timed tobacco bill) and then when the current market is jonesing for their ecigs after a conveniently small, yet troublesome time period, release ecigs and recapture the lost smoking market. Sheister marketing 101!

From what I can tell, Big Tobacco IS holding us hostage, again. Hopefully, letters to Senators and elected officials will bring some attention to this. It is also time, if you happen to donate to American Lung Association, American Cancer Society and Tobacco Free Kids, to start writing letters to them asking them why they would support a bill that would not only set tobacco harm reduction back two years, but would also give Big Tobacco some serious control! If you donate to these "companies", and yes, they are companies in Non-Profit clothing, one might seriously consider not funding them anymore.

 

[Steampunk]

Why in the world would a gas/oil/mining company (ParaFin) be interested in distribution of smokeless devices? Am I looking at the correct ParaFin?

 

[Happy Jack]

Again, I will repost this in this thread because it is just too important to not read. And if you aren't going to read it, you probably shouldn't be posting in this thread at all... just my .02 cents.

Bridging the Divide: A Shared Interest in a Coherent National Tobacco Policy

For those who don't want to read it, even though you should want to educate yourself, here are the cliff notes:

2000: We at Altria know that our business is going to the shi*ter. We have two major issues fighting against us: Public Perception and the FDA wanting to control nicotine/tobacco. Since we know that we can't fix public perception because well, our leadership until 2000 has been a bunch of weasels, we have decided that the only way to survive is to jump in bed with the FDA and allow them to regulate (with our help of course).

Hey Lacey, the link doesn't seem to be working anymore...

 

[OutWest]

And let's also not forget that PM held the original US patent for ecigs and it conveniently ran out this year. I have always been curious as to why they did that and why they didn't fight Ruyan. The more and more we dig, the more and more I begin to realize maybe why they have been so quiet.

Let the little companies get the market up and do the hard work, eliminate the competition (with a conveniently timed tobacco bill) and then when the current market is jonesing for their ecigs after a conveniently small, yet troublesome time period, release ecigs and recapture the lost smoking market. Sheister marketing 101!

From what I can tell, Big Tobacco IS holding us hostage, again. Hopefully, letters to Senators and elected officials will bring some attention to this. It is also time, if you happen to donate to American Lung Association, American Cancer Society and Tobacco Free Kids, to start writing letters to them asking them why they would support a bill that would not only set tobacco harm reduction back two years, but would also give Big Tobacco some serious control! If you donate to these "companies", and yes, they are companies in Non-Profit clothing, one might seriously consider not funding them anymore.

It does smell, eh? As for ALA and ACS, I've already been telling them to shove off when they call for more donations. And have told them exactly why.

 

[jim420]

All this while they are shutting down one of their 2 major plants here in my home town and I mean as we speak they are shutting down (putting thousands out of work). Go figure.

 

[harmony gardens]

I can understand motives of the tobacco companies not wanting to give up the golden goose of millions of addicted customers, but I can't understand the FDA. They claim to be trying to protect health. I would think if eCigs are even half as dangerous as smoking cigarettes, they should encourage people to switch to vaping.