NW to West. . .

I am back in Utah (LOWEST SMOKING RATE IN THE COUNTRY!) for a few weeks for the holidays and of course I can’t stay away from my usual Tobacco Control/Condom Access.
I connected in Denver on my way to Salt Lake (which I decided to name “Vanillaland” coming from “Chocolate City”) I was shocked to see that cigarettes were sold in the Airport. Maybe I never really paid attention to the sales of Tobacco products in the airport but of course I couldn’t help out strike up a conversation with the cashiers. Two nice young men of the Ethiopian decent, one of the young man’s mother was actually from the DC area! He was telling me how he used to work at 7-11 and sold Black and Milds and how he thought that they were NOT dangerous and DID not cause cancer.

I asked him “Why do think that that these mini-cigars are not harmful?”
He stated “They are called MILD” If you can imagine the steam coming out my ears like a cartoon character!!!!
I asked him how many of the Black and Milds he sold at 7-11 to white people. He said “Not many.”
I then replied “Don’t you think it is interesting that the name is BLACK and MILD, they picked Black people and named it MILD to keep blacks hooked!!!”
He was pretty mad and happy to take the pamphlet from DC Tobacco Free Families in my carry-on to take to his friends.
(the photo to the right is a random guy that I found when I googled Black and Mild images- basically he doesn’t look very cool to me!)

I was thrilled with the recent Supreme Court Ruling on Light Cigarettes! According to Greg Stohr of Bloomberg.com

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Smokers can sue over the marketing of “light” cigarettes, the US Supreme Court ruled in a decision that bolsters billions of dollars in claims against Altria Group’s Philip Morris USA and other tobacco companies.

The justices, voting 5-4, said a federal labeling law doesn’t shield cigarette makers from suits accusing them of deceiving consumers by describing cigarettes as “light” or “low tar.” The high court also said federal oversight of cigarette testing didn’t preclude those lawsuits.

Light-cigarette suits represent probably the most significant legal threat facing the tobacco industry, with dozens of smoker suits against Philip Morris, Reynolds American’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and other cigarette makers. Lights account for more than 80 percent of the U.S. market, according to federal figures. . .

Media Relations from Altria (Philip Morris Parent Company) said the decision was “Manageable” HA! Manageable?????

KILLING PEOPLE IS NOT MANAGEABLE!!!!