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Jump to full article: McGill Tribune (ca), 2009-10-20
Intro: as targets go, Big Tobacco is one of the easiest.
After all, who's going to take issue with the government picking on tobacco companies? . . .
However, we unfortunately find ourselves agreeing with the Big Tobacco spokespersons that have called the provincial lawsuits an example of "sheer hypocrisy." Tobacco is a heavily regulated, heavily taxed industry off of which the Quebec government collects more than $700 million per year. It takes a twisted leap of logic for the government to endorse tobacco as a legal product, yet claim tobacco companies should be responsible for Quebecers' poor choices. The consequences of smoking have been known for decades - it's just that individual smokers choose to ignore these health warnings. . . .
Consumers are going to pay for any money awarded in a lawsuit through higher cigarette prices - the Quebec government might as well skip the hypocritical court case and increase the one tax that Canadians don't seem to mind being raised. Taxing tobacco - now that's an easy target.
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