Government sharks feed on Big Tobacco

Sharks are among nature’s most amazing creatures. They are quick, graceful and superior hunters. But above those qualities they are relentless. The scent of blood can drive sharks into a feeding frenzy that continues until their hapless victim is totally consumed.

Come to think of it, government is similar to a shark. That’s not to say the two are twin brothers mind you. Government moves quickly only when jumping to conclusions and embodies the grace of a blind, three-legged hippopotamus wearing snowshoes. Brothers they aren’t, but cousins indeed. Government is a relentless and thorough predator. Like sharks, government utterly devours wounded prey.

Government’s shark-like demeanor has been illustrated by its voracious appetite for tobacco companies. First blood was drawn when government determined when and where tobacco could be used. But government wasn’t satisfied. Legislation then dictated how, when and where tobacco products could be marketed, restrictions that predictably increased with time. But government wasn’t satisfied.

Through lawsuits and coercive settlements government forced tobacco manufacturers to compensate customers for healthcare costs and damages even though smokers continued to use a product the health risks of which have been common knowledge for 50-plus years. But government wasn’t satisfied. Government then forced the cigarette makers to fund campaigns designed to prevent people from using their perfectly legal, albeit unhealthy, products. Still it wasn’t enough; government’s feeding frenzy continues.

As long as scraps remain on Big Tobacco’s carcass the government shark will not relent. It will consume every bite: meat, gristle, fat, bone and all. Tobacco companies will next fund advertisements in which they’re forced to admit to committing fraud and mischaracterizing their products.

The Justice Department has devised a list of “corrective statements” that tobacco companies must publicly announce. In one statement the cigarette companies will disclose lying about light and low tar cigarettes in order to maintain their markets. Another government prepared statement compels the companies to acknowledge manipulation of nicotine levels so as to sustain addictions and create a perpetual customer base.

Each corrective statement- -in print or broadcast form- -will announce which tobacco manufacturer sponsored the ad and that it was released “under order of a federal district court.” A more fitting disclaimer would reveal that cigarette makers produced the ad under coercion, or direct threat, from a government more akin to the defunct Soviet Union than to the United States of America.

Tobacco companies are fighting the government’s dictates. But they have as much chance to avoid their fate as a wounded seal has to escape a Great White. Legal challenges are a dead end thanks to judicial activists such as District Court Judge Gladys Kessler. Kessler has publicly declared her desire to force the industry to fund the government’s “corrective statements.” Big Tobacco has no reason to think that Judge Kessler, or any judge of like manner, will grant them a fair shake rather than ruling according to predisposed attitudes?

It’s not my desire to defend tobacco companies or the use of their products. Tobacco in any form is a good habit to avoid and the health risks are the worst kept secret of the last half century. However, tobacco isn’t an impossible habit to kick; millions of people have done so, including me. I forsook smokeless tobacco cold turkey after using it for fifteen years. For a smoker to think light cigarettes mitigate the ill health effects of tobacco indicates a foolish person, or someone intent on rationalizing their habit.

We have far more to fear from government intrusions than from tobacco peddlers. Big Tobacco never forced a single soul to smoke; it was a personal choice for which the smoker bears ultimate responsibility. Conversely, government can force our actions through fines, imprisonment, or even death. We should be wary of government’s willingness to publicly vilify any private company, even one as politically incorrect as tobacco, just as a swimmer should be wary of doing the breast stroke in shark-infested waters. Just as government has denigrated tobacco it can denigrate any company or industry it chooses for any reason it deems necessary.

Actually, governments are more dangerous than sharks. Stay out of the water and the shark risk is mitigated. Where can one go to avoid government’s feeding frenzy?

George Washington said, “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent, it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” Sharks or fire, the victim is consumed just the same.