Tobacco industry a devious enemy: WHO chief

They aren't an enemy. They are a group of companies competing with each other. They sell products. If you don't like them, don't buy them.

Government, on the other hand, now there's a ruthless and devious enemy to be defeated.

gaijininfo, ur forgetting that the product they are selling is highly addictive physically and mentally! Once we try, we are robbed of our choice to stop.

Oil companies and Pharmaceutical companies could also be added to the list.

branded the tobacco industry a “ruthless and devious enemy” and called on governments and civil society groups to unite against cigarette firms.

And here's why the government owning 50% of Japan Tobacco leads to a conflict of interest.

The governments of the world happily take taxes from them; while in Japan, JT produces both cigarettes and anti-cancer drugs!

Tobacco companies are getting clobbered across the globe by governments. No smoking laws are expanding by the day and taxes are increasing in every country.

Seems to me that the tobacco companies have very little sway or lobbying power.

If any government passes laws against Tobacco companies, it means the Tobacco lobbyists are not working hard enough.

for many years the governments took the tabaco's taxes, without doing something, and what about alcohol?

And in other shocking news, "Water discovered to be a major factor in drowning", says WHO chief.

Talk about mentioning the completely obvious... Those who smoke do so at their own risk. Governments who simultaneously tax and castigate are the real enemy. Nobody forces a cigarette into your mouth.

Treat it like Pachinko and Corporate Television.

Don't give them your custom.

Stop smoking and the tobacco industry will die a natural death.

The governments of the world happily take taxes from them

To pay for all the future hospital treatment that is necessary for smokers.

Oil companies and Pharmaceutical companies could also be added to the list.

These companies, to a certain extent, provide vitally necessary products for society.

Those who smoke do so at their own risk.

No, they don't. They risk the health and lives of all around them. Smoking is a blight on society and letting young people start the habit should be a crime. It is one of the hardest of all drugs to give up.

Nobody forces a cigarette into your mouth.

Yes, they do. I, and millions like me, started smoking at an early age because of peer pressure and the image that smoking was "cool"...an image that tobacco companies painstakingly cultivated (and are still trying to cultivate).

Stop smoking and the tobacco industry will die a natural death.

It seems like you've never smoked. It's a tremendously hard habit to break.

if you grow your own tobacco, without all the chemical additives put in by these companies, is it still as addictive??

is it still as addictive??

All tobacco contains nicotine, which is addictive. All tobacco is harmful to the body. While some argue that organic tobacco is "safer", it is kind of like saying a 22 caliber bullet is safer than a 38 caliber. ie: both can kill you.

Cigarette companies load up their product with chemicals in addition to the nicotine that occurs naturally in tobacco. If you're addicted and quit, not only will you go through nicotine withdrawal, your body will also show the effects of missing all the other chemicals. When I quit (almost 8 months ago), I felt like crap for a couple of months. And I still can't sleep for more than about 5.5 hours a night. But I can feel that my chest is clearer, and I'm overall in better shape. I'll never start up again.

The governments of the world happily take taxes from them

To pay for all the future hospital treatment that is necessary for smokers.

Ok, Billy. I smoked a pack a day for over 30 years. I paid plenty of cigarette taxes to the U.S. government. Where's my membership card? You know, the one that allows me to take advantage of the health care I paid for all those years?

Smokers are mental weaklings. First, they let others con them into starting smoking despite being told repeatedly how bad it was for your health, then they let the addiction override any intelligence they have telling them that smoking is not only bad but expensive.

Tobacco companies ARE an enemy in the battle for public health. They do everything in their power to entrap a new generation of addicted customers and ensure the steady flow of profits off of addiction. When a law is passed in one country preventing a certain tactic (like the "Joe Camel" cartoon character presenting Camel cigarettes as "cool"), that doesn't stop the company from continuing to use the tactic in other countries. Tobacco companies have the moral compass of a pedophile.

Both my wife and I used to smoke. When we moved out of our apartment in Sapporo six years ago, we did a very thorough cleaning job. The yellow nicotine on the walls and ceiling was disgusting. This was one of the things that made us decide to give up.

I found that once I had made the decision, giving up smoking was not difficult.

It can be done.

Compare it with the consequences of not giving up and you will probably find a reason to quit.