Sunday, June 05, 2011

Big Tobacco's Self-Defeating Position

The Australian Federal government is well on the way to introducing legislation requiring plain packaging for cigarettes. Not surprisingly, tobacco companies are not happy. From the Sydney Morning Herald:  
British American Tobacco Australia (BATA) has attacked the federal government's cigarette plain packaging plans, saying there's no proof it will reduce smoking rates.
I know their arguments are more nuanced than simply "it won't work", and they claim it will effect their ability to market their brand against competing companies in the marketplace, etc. But fundamentally, the fact they are campaigning so feverishly against plain packaging contradicts their claim it won't work. If they really believe it won't work, then why bother campaigning? A position that is fairly Self-Defeating
BATA chief executive David Crow went on to say:
We don't want to see a situation where taxpayer dollars are being wasted.
Wow. Thanks for you concern for the waste of government funds David... How much money, time, energy is being spent on combating smoking related illness? The hypocrisy of statements like this is almost admirable; the Bad Faith breathtaking.