Tobacco Companies and Road Safety

What have tobacco companies got to do with road safety you may rightly ask. Anything and everything is the answer, read on.

Tobacco Companies are fighting for the right to kill their loyal customers. Their campaign is to stop the Government's intention to compel tobacco companies to sell their products in plain packaging. The idea is that attractive cigarette packs with familiar livery will go. The merchants of death fear that this would be the catalyst that will spread around the world and cost them billions.

The Big Three - British American Tobacco Australia, Imperial Tobacco Australia and Philip Morris Australia - have established a front group that supposedly represents service stations, newsagent and convenience stores. Plain packaging, we are warned, would harm small business and cost jobs.

Hello, the idea is to drive down smoking rates. And hello, the smoker who quits is not going to stop spending their money.

Maybe panel beaters should start a campaign, saying that road safety strategies are driving them out of business.

PS. When are we going to see a road safety campaign that bans people from driving when they are smoking? Or smoking when they are driving!

money and democracy

Today we have seen the commencement of a major campaign funded by global tobacco companies against a government commitment they do not like. Plain packaging for tobacco products, and they are clearly worried about it setting a precedent that other countries will follow. Much has been said and written about the actual policy and that is not my purpose here. I am more concerned with the fact that multinational companies can pour millions into a campaign during an election campaign, it is not dis-similar to the campaign the miners are running against the re-jigged 'super tax'; but being tobacco, I am more familiar with it. There is also an issue in terms of transparency and accountability. The front alliance for this campaign was only legally established 13 days ago! Why can't the tobacco companies be more open about; rather than framing the issue in terms of small retailers?

Clearly, corporate wealth influences the public debate; that is why the tobacco and mining companies are pouring millions into their campaigns. They purport that their intent is not to bring down governments; but, this seems rather thin. no matter what, others will use their campaign, and perhaps money, to leverage a change of government.

Imagine if the poor, the dispossessed, the oppressed and the marginalized had that much leverage in the political process. imagine if asylum seekers could throw ten million dollars at an advertising campaign.