What would happen if Americans stopped smoking?

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Unfortunate skydiving accident?

 

[outofplace]

Nah, I'm not going out naturally.

Depends if you consider dying from a disease caused by your smoking "going out naturally" or not.

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Maybe she intends to get eaten by lions. Ever think of that?

 

[imjustagirl]

Nah, I'm not going out naturally.

Depends if you consider dying from a disease caused by your smoking "going out naturally" or not.

I do. And I'm not.

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Hey, if every smoker and soft-drink drinker signs a pledge to be eaten by lions by their 50th birthday, I'd be all for giving them a waiver on these sin taxes. Otherwise, pony up, forkers.

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Painless? What are you, a liberal?

 

[Point of Order]

First they come for your smokes and soft drinks. Then they come for your soul.

 

[imjustagirl]

First they come for your smokes and soft drinks. Then they come for your soul.

HA! Joke's on them, then!

 

[jackfinarelli]

One of my favorite movies of the last decade: Thank You for Smoking...

And the book was even better than the movie...

 

[jackfinarelli]

One section that leaped off the page to me: "The end of smoking would even ripple as far as corporate philanthropy. Between 1997 and 2005, the tobacco industry made over $143 million in charitable donations."

Isn't the tobacco industry as a whole profitable to the tune of billions upon billions? So over eight years they donated about $18 mil per year? I'm quite unimpressed.

The recipients of that philanthropy are probably impressed. Remember, in order for those folks to give $18M a year to charity, there have to be charitable organizations willing to take the money...

 

[outofplace]

One section that leaped off the page to me: "The end of smoking would even ripple as far as corporate philanthropy. Between 1997 and 2005, the tobacco industry made over $143 million in charitable donations."

Isn't the tobacco industry as a whole profitable to the tune of billions upon billions? So over eight years they donated about $18 mil per year? I'm quite unimpressed.

The recipients of that philanthropy are probably impressed. Remember, in order for those folks to give $18M a year to charity, there have to be charitable organizations willing to take the money...

Careful you don't dislocate your shoulder with that reach. Got one actual example of a charity refusing their money? You might find a few, but I'm guessing the real limit is how much they want to give. They do enough to try to clean up their image, but not much compared to what the industry makes.

 

[jackfinarelli]

One section that leaped off the page to me: "The end of smoking would even ripple as far as corporate philanthropy. Between 1997 and 2005, the tobacco industry made over $143 million in charitable donations."

Isn't the tobacco industry as a whole profitable to the tune of billions upon billions? So over eight years they donated about $18 mil per year? I'm quite unimpressed.

The recipients of that philanthropy are probably impressed. Remember, in order for those folks to give $18M a year to charity, there have to be charitable organizations willing to take the money...

Careful you don't dislocate your shoulder with that reach. Got one actual example of a charity refusing their money? You might find a few, but I'm guessing the real limit is how much they want to give. They do enough to try to clean up their image, but not much compared to what the industry makes.

My point was that the charitable organizations that took the reported $18M per year had to be sufficiently appreciative of the money to take it - - or they would have rejected it. I am sure that some charities do not take "tobacco money"; I would suspect that the American Lung Association would not take money from the Marlboro Man but I don't know that for sure.

Giving to charity is done for lots of reasons - - only one of which is to gain favorable recognition within a community. I think it is quite a stretch for anyone to judge the motivation(s) of any donor and an even bigger stretch to suppose that someone can determine how much a donor ought to give to charities.

According to this report tobacco companies give $18M a year to charities. That is a good thing. It does not justify the tobacco industry but it is still a good thing. Presumably, the charities did positive things with the money...