Accepted. the tobacco companies business practices have been bad. Their morals have been loathsome.
Let me list a few other widely accepted companies who, today are well thought of, but began their business with blood and abuse.
Any rail road. They killed any Indian nation standing in their way or had the army do it. They burned, bought and murdered landowners who were in their path. They worked hundreds of people to death. After being established, they had a train wreck a day for ages, being unwilling to improve safety conditions. Hundreds of thousands died.
Ford motor company. They sold thousands of models of cars with dangerous design flaws but made no recalls years ago, because of costs.
Coal mines killed thousands either quickly or slowly because the owners did not want to provide fresh air, fire safety, adequate lighting or dust protection for the miners, whom they paid cheaply and virtually owned. That cost money. The ‘Company Store’ came from such places. miners lived in company housing, bought goods from the company store and worked in the company mine. The prices in the store was set to the average pay so that the miner, often running on a ‘chit’ rarely knew his pay. The store and company made sure he never managed to break even. Black lung is a hideous disease.
Steel mills. They polluted the air, the water, killed men, and their smoke and vapors poisoned lands and watersheds hundreds of miles away. The owners declined to use safer and more pollution free ways until the EPA and unions got involved.
The canning industry. For ages they sealed the tine cans of food with lead solder and gave lead poisoning to many. It was not until about 30 years ago that they were forced to change.
The toy industry. They used to make tin toys with razor sharp edges that one assembled. (I had a gas station.) They made toys with polluted water in them, mildly toxic jells, small, sharp bits and lead paint. They knew this but did not change until the government got involved and passed laws.
Lead pipes and solder. There are still houses with these in them. The industry knew about lead poisoning but few wanted to change their suppliers. (PVC pipe is used now, or copper with silver solder. You know, that glue used on PVC pipe is deadly. Most plumbers really slather that stuff on and if you run your taps in a newly plumbed house, you take the tap screens off because hardened globs of the stuff will flow out. What about the globs that sit and soak in the water you will later drink?)
Herbal medicines. Unregulated. Some of the stuff contains toxic levels of the herbs or are mixed with similar, but not the same, herbs, which can be poison. Gingko Bilboa: makes you smart. Does it? It thins the blood, enabling more oxygen to get to your brain. However, if you are already taking an anticoagulant or large doses of aspirin, it’s not wise to use Gingko – but there is no warning on the bottle.
Gasoline. Any form. The vapors when filling your tank are harmful. (Some cities have installed recovery systems at the pump.) Gas station attendants used to pump the stuff – in the days of full service – not knowing that exposure to the fumes and liquid would ulcerate the skin. The fuel companies knew this.
Most major banks. They might not have directly killed anyone, but they certainly ruined thousands as they manipulated interest rates, called in loans they could have let ride, snatched up property and practiced illegal business in order to become powerful, virtual monopolies. (Barnett Bank comes to mind.)
The creators of the first life prolonging AIDS medication. $100 a pop. You need it, you come up with the cash. No cash, then die.
Most motion picture companies. They’ll make a person a star. Work them hard until they loose either popularity or energy and then unceremoniously dump them. (The Three Stooges were locked out of the lot without even getting time to get their stuff after years of hard, physical performances for their company. One day they were employed and well thought of, the next, they were fired. It’s happened time and time again and no one does anything.)
The News Media. Sensationalism and hype. Points count instead of fact. They can make or break a person. They are responsible for the insane hysteria starting over day care child abuse, which spread all over and even to teachers. (The initial case, which started it all, was wrong.) Lives were ruined by the score.
Your local government. Ft. Lauderdale Florida, some years ago, was creamed by hurricane Andrew. When the dust settled, the news folks had been paid off, and the devastation shown, only 14 people were reported as having died. A friend of mine in the national guard who went there said he had to keep guard on a warehouse stacked with bodies. No one was to be allowed in. He estimated that at least 2000 died. The local government did not want tourists getting scared and not stopping by in the future hurricane seasons because they need the money. So they lied. The media knew and went along with it. It’s OK if tourists get splattered in the next hurricane just so long as they leave their money behind.
Mercury. They’ve known for ages is poisonous, but not only were there science experiments on how to turn a penny silver (dip it in mercury) but no one suggested the use of gloves when handling the stuff. Not to mention the logging industry which used tons of it to strip bark off of trees. (How that works, I don’t know.) and dumped it into lakes where it still lurks today, in the muck. No one has sued them to clean it up. It steadily poisons the water and fish.
There’s more, but I can’t think of them right now. The tobacco companies are not the only ones who willingly sold harmful things to the public.
Food for thought: Aluminum has been implicated as a possible contributor/cause of Alzheimer’s disease. You cook in aluminum pots. Those cheap ones, as they grow old, shed aluminum into your food. Even good Club aluminum sheds. (Wipe one out with a damp paper towel and look at what you get.) How much aluminum are you eating daily? Teflon. When DuPont made it, the stuff was thickly applied to pots. Once everyone else could use it, the coating became thin. How many of you have pots with the Teflon coating wearing off? How much Teflon are you consuming? Will it eventually hurt you?
Do you have pewter cups, plates, glass bottomed mugs you like to use? Quaff a beer from ye oldie Beer pewter mug and peer through the bottom? Then, you’re slowly poisoning yourself. Pewter is a mix of lead and tin. The lead bleeds into the food.
Got some nice, cheap, pretty imported glaze wear? Like to use it to eat off of? Do you know if the pretty colors have lead in them? Did the little sticker on each that you ignored say for display only? Lead based underglaze can bleed lead through the lightly covered clear glaze. Stores know this but the stuff sells well. They get by the lead warning by applying a sticker that says ‘for display use only,’ not caring that many people will wash off the sticker, probably not even reading it, and use the plates. They don’t care if you poison yourself, just so long as you buy the plates from them.
Basically, the tobacco industry is being used as a pariah. The lawyers will get 40% of the settlement. Only the lawyers will profit from this mess. However, all of us, smokers and nonsmokers alike, will pay for it because a precidence has been set.
Wait for it. Eventually they’ll get around to something you like to do, like guns, booze, herbs, gasoline, or whatever and then, you’ll pay, and pay and pay.