Should we try to team up with Tobacco Companies to keep E-cigs Legal?

[Rev. Mac]

Yeah to me that goes back to personal responsibility, as well as most people here in the US seem to be very "sue" happy. Honestly the only reason I initially came to e-cigs was because of the tax hike. I have always enjoyed smoking. I know it very well could have been the death of me, just as well as I know that the same "could" happen with e-cigs. I take that risk though because i like the feeling. Which is the same reason I drink and have sex. All of which can have bad consequences, especially sex, (lol) but I do it anyways.

 

[TribbleTrouble]

There are mountains of evidence, as you say, damning cigarette smoking. But Big tobacco cannot walk into a courtroom where it is being sued for damages, where it has been accused of causing a death, and say "yep, we did it."

It walks into that courtroom and says "prove it." Prove that cigarette smoking ALONE cause this person's illness and death. Could environmental factors have caused or contributed to the problem? Was he exposed to chemicals at any other time in his life, perhaps as a soldier? What was his diet? What hobby habits did he have? How can you say with absolute certainty that cigarette smoking alone triggered the problem or caused the death?

Big tobacco cannot plead guilty. Each lost lawsuit costs millions of dollars. There are only so many millions to flip away in damage awards. And there are at this moment 8,000 lawsuits in my state of Florida alone against Big tobacco, all seeking millions for dead smokers.

Like I asked earlier, hasn't BT already lost that battle. Their denial hasn't stopped the courts from awarding damages due to the mountain of independant evidence against tobacco smoke. What do they have to lose? If they make their own PV's, that is just them exploring a new market, not an admission of the evils of tobacco.

 

[TropicalBob]

What do they have to lose?

Their business. Their investments in machinery and materials and ... The stakes are too high for Big Tobacco to admit to having "lost that battle."

Fear of suits over cigarettes is a major reason we don't save "safer" cigs on the market now. This same kind of chase-your-tail argument was made by automakers when air bags were tested. "We can't admit cars without them are unsafe!!!" So we won't use them until forced to by government.

I see this as a Big Pharma prospect. Big Tobacco will just keep trying to move on to snus, chew, dissolvables, and selling cigarettes to Third World countries with less stringent laws.

Or ... Big Tobacco might actually work with Big Pharma to create our vaporizers of the future. BT sells hardware; BP sells content. Each to his own. But some corporate heads are going to have to get together if this is to happen. Maybe the sucky economy will force new visions.

 

[LiquidVapor]

I find that it is a reoccurring process that people hate "big tobacco" I do not understand this.

I started smoking at 14 years old, and no one from Marlboro came up to me and shoved a cigarette in my mouth.

Would you blame Budweiser for a drunk driving death, No So why blame Cigarette companies for your health or addiction now

I too started smoking very young at 12 - 13 years old, luckily I quit by the time I was 18...you say you started at 14...at that age, more than likely, there was some type of outside influence to convince you to make that "choice"...as kids we are extremely susceptible to peer pressure and have not developed the wisdom to battle the need to "fit in", not to mention the marketing techniques of advertisers whom spend billions of dollars on finding out exactly what techniques work to make you "choose" their product...I was brought up in the 50's and 60"s and all I saw was people smoking...tobacco companies advertised like mad back then..The Marlboro man rode on his horse and looked real cool back then...Hey, James Bond smoked, why not me?...I was uninformed and being "sold" by repetitive commercials...I don't know when you were brought up but there was a time we were clearly being "sold" on a product that was known to be deadly. I agree that as of recent times there is so much more evidence and, obviously, no advertising by these murderers, so yes, I agree with you that anyone, especially those of adult age, that has chosen to smoke in more recent times needs to take more personal responsibility...but that does not negate the fact that these Tobacco companies willingly and knowingly LIED to keep selling their product and are complicit in the death of millions. Everyone should have a problem with that, free market or not...IMHO

 

[LiquidVapor]

removed because it was a duplicate...

 

[deewal]

I have personal responsibility, I think anyone that are on these boards are young enough to have known Cigarettes are bad for you before they had their first cigarette

I smoked my first Cigarette when i was about 9 or 10. I grew up in the 50's and 60's. I remember my Father smoking Senior Service and Capstan Full Strength. One of my first Heroes was this guy.
http://www.cinemasterpieces.com/rebeloct05.jpg
Hey. What's that in his hand ? Here's another guy that i thought was great a little later.
http://www.cinemasterpieces.com/drnoquadmar08.jpg

He's got one in his hand as well. If you did'nt smoke you were'nt "With it"

This one is'nt that old but she's still got one in her hand.
http://www.cinemasterpieces.com/pulpaug08.jpg

Nobody told me it was bad for me. It was "cool"

 

[Rev. Mac]

I am sorry, i was speaking out of my limited knowledge of personal experiance.

I was brought up in the 80's and although cigarette marketting was not banned yet i did see the marlboro man and joe the camel, to me they where like ronald mcdonald (which come to find out, his products can be just as bad as the tobacco companies) i saw them as the same fictional mascots. i can not say for sure that those images as a young child drew me towards or away from cigarettes.

I started smoking because my friends did, and it is tough for a kid to be the odd man out.