Donald Trump, Roy Moore, and $23 Cigarettes (Public Health and Money)

Today I was reflecting on and worrying about the possibility that a verified child molester, a person who was banned from his local mall, a person who harassed schoolgirls while they were in class, might be elected to the United States Senate, which is the highest legislative office in the United States.

These Men and Women wield incredible power here in the United States, and their office has always stood for wisdom, integrity, and the guiding hand of the American Elite - very much similar to the British House of Lords vs the House of Commons.

But now we have Donald Trump, and a verified child molester, both men who have flaunted and/or been confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt as people who assault vulnerable young women.

How can this happen?  Why does this happen?  The answer?  $23.00 cigarettes.

You see, in 2016, the White House was essentially purchased for Donald Trump and Michael Pence, both men who have a lifetime of misogyny (hatred of women), legislative incompetence, inexperience or worse - personal records of selfishness, arrogance and the worst kind of racist, Plutocratic (rule by the rich) records in both their personal and professional lives.

Why did they get elected? Well, frankly, a lot of it was tobacco money. (click to linked article)

That link is to an article by an independent, international newspaper, the London's Guardian.  A source of truth and impeccable, unimpeachable true journalism for generations.
Tobacco companies tighten hold on Washington under Trump

Top White House figures – including the vice-president and health secretary – have deep ties to an industry whose donations began pouring in on day one

What does this have to do with $23 cigarettes?  In a word, Australia.

In 2004, Australia passed a law that banned all tobacco advertising, and required that each pack of cigarettes have a photograph of either a diseased lung or diseased rotting teeth and gums.  No branding was allowed, just a small-font identification of brand on the base of the pack.

The reason for this, is their lawmakers after decades of resistance from corporate interests, responded to these facts.  This is 2017 data from the World Health Organization.

Tobacco

Fact sheet
Updated May 2017

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Key facts

• Tobacco kills up to half of its users.
• Tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year. More than 6 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 890 000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.
• Nearly 80% of the world's more than 1 billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.

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Leading cause of death, illness and impoverishment

The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 7 million people a year. More than 6 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 890 000 are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.

Nearly 80% of the more than 1 billion smokers worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.

Tobacco users who die prematurely deprive their families of income, raise the cost of health care and hinder economic development.

In some countries, children from poor households are frequently employed in tobacco farming to provide family income. These children are especially vulnerable to "green tobacco sickness", which is caused by the nicotine that is absorbed through the skin from the handling of wet tobacco leaves.

Here is the link, if you wish to read more.

In response to this real and present danger, incredible social and economic cost, and the human hardships deliberately created by the sale, manufacture and for-profit industries that represent "big tobacco" worldwide, Australia chose to finally take action.  

The punitive taxes they established which (and this is critically important) included provisions forbidding the tobacco companies from raising prices to adjust for reduced demand, or take advantage of these taxes, raised the cost of cigarettes to an adjusted cost of $23 US per package of 20 cigarettes.

Well, in response, the tobacco companies, based in Europe, the UK and primarily, these United States of America, instantly moved all corporate operations to Hong Kong, and then filed suit in international court for restraint of trade.

It is estimated their legal team contained between 1200 and 4000 full-time attorneys, plus associated staff.

After over a decade of fighting these legal challenges, Australia - at a cost of nearly $700,000,000 - after that colossal waste of money, they were able to exercise their national sovereignty.  

You see, while "big tobacco" does lose some product sales due to high per-package prices, they have adjusted this by correspondingly and immediately raising their per-package profit. 

But - and this is critical - both the American Democratic Party and especially Hillary Clinton declared that they wanted to also take on the industry of death that is tobacco. 

So - big tobacco (in America's Wide-Open and completely corrupted political system) poured literally billions of dollars into being damn sure that Donald Trump and Michael Pence, their loyal minions, got elected.

Now they have poured an estimated 3 million dollars into interim campaigns to keep Democrats away from holding office - so they can continue to sell death to children.

To children.

You see, in 2017 in Australia, only 2% of children under 18 smoke - a 84% decline since the new prices and pack art laws took effect.

11% of American children smoke.

16% of European children smoke.

26% - 35% of children in the poorest countries smoke.

Because...  of evil wealthy men and women, and nameless, faceless, soulless corporations.  Immortal corporations - companies that can trace their roots to the genocide that accompanied the original importation of tobacco from the Americas during the Spanish conquests.

For Shame.

I'm not including links for the bottom half of this article, because if you are reading this, you have Google.  I hope - indeed I pray that you will try to catch me in a lie or find a flaw in this article.

My name is John Edward Hubertz, and my Dad smoked.  Three of my four housemates smoke, and lately, perhaps due to their secondhand smoke, I'm up to about four cigarettes a day.

Now please excuse me, while I take a smoke break.

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