smoke and mirrors

A story about a dead smoker's daughter. In 2002 a jury recommends 28000000000 dollars in punitive damages in favour of a smoker with lung cancer who claimed she was duped by a lack of health warnings from Philip Morris. The big numbers were punitive damages based on the tobacco company being bastards. The judge reduced the figure to 28000000. In 2009 a Jury decides (9-3) a figure of 13800000 is to go to a new plaintiff, the daughter of the original plaintiff who died in 2003, aged 64.

Now, I am not fan of tobacco companies, far from it. They should be fucking hammered for any cover ups and wilful endangerment to life in the pursuit of stock-holder wealth creation. But awarding a massive payout to the daughter of a woman who kept smoking after becoming aware of the health risks is a bit fucking rich. She started smoking at 17 and smoked for over 40years.

Sad though it is for the woman to die what was probabaly a horrible death, and for her daughter to suffer too, it is worth noting the mum had a good innings. She was born around 1939-1941 when the average life expectancy in the US was 63.62. (That link is to a pdf, so I'd not bother clicking and trawling through it. Trust me.) She lived longer than average life expectancy, albeit only just, despite refusing to give up smoking, something she knew was bad for her.

Hammer the company; but lets not talk-up fuckwits.

And another thing. Rather than ban smoking in certain public places - restaurants and cafes, pubs, railway stations and so on, and rather than putting no "smoking signs", often ignored, outside of offices how about ban smoking everywhere and make those who wish to cater to smokers while they smoke provide for them? I am getting sorely fucked off with smokers being herded into areas that are really rather nice. Sydney is blessed with particularly nice weather and I like to sit outside. But as smoking is now banned in almost all enclosed spaces you find dense concentrations of smokers outside. Bollocks to that; give them a fucking sealed room in which to chug on their cancer sticks so the rest of us can breath the relatively clean air outside our cafes. And never, EVER remove the butts from the sealed room so that over time the inconsiderate fucks can drown in a sea of their own waste. And no apology is offered to so-called considerate smokers. If you're that fucking consierate you shoudl consider quitting.

Ah, that was better.