{"id":2942,"date":"2015-02-16T19:59:44","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T19:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2942"},"modified":"2015-02-16T20:09:43","modified_gmt":"2015-02-16T20:09:43","slug":"john-oliver-meet-jeff-the-diseased-lung-takedown-of-tobacco-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2942","title":{"rendered":"John Oliver — Meet “Jeff the Diseased Lung” takedown of tobacco companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jeff<\/a><\/p>\n

This is really brilliant. John Oliver on HBO <\/a>dedicated an 18-minute segment to ripping into the tobacco companies for attacking small nations trying to implement anti-tobacco laws.<\/p>\n

Oliver makes some good points, some I knew about, others I didn’t. We all know the tobacco industry is in full-fledged decline in the West because frankly people are tired of watching their loved ones die of COPD and lung cancer … and governments are tired of the billions of dollars of medical costs draining their economies. The smoking rate in the West is less than one-half of what it was 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

Well, the tobacco industry has responded by aggressively marketing its products overseas, especially in Africa and Asia. These poorer nations as a rule don’t have strong regulations regarding tobacco and smoking rates are exceedingly high in some of these countries (According to Oliver, Indonesia’s smoking rate is 67 percent among men.).<\/p>\n

Oliver’s takedown begins with Australia, which has been one of the most aggressive nations in the world in combating tobacco. Australia passed a law requiring plain packaging, which Philip Morris International, obviously a subsidiary of Philip Morris, took to court. The case went all the way to the Australian Supreme Court, which ruled in favour of the government.<\/p>\n

PMI then filed a trademark lawsuit against Australia to the World Court, saying Australia’s refusal to allow tobacco branding violated a trade agreement with Hong Kong, where PMI is headquartered.<\/p>\n

Oliver also brings up lawsuits filed by tobacco companies against tiny countries like Uruguay, Togo and the Solomon Islands for attempting to restrict tobacco branding.<\/p>\n

\"jeff<\/a>
Actual Last Week with John Oliver “Jeff the Diseased Lung” billboard in Uruguay,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Oliver’s show, Last Week with John Oliver, then came up with a brilliant idea. Create a tobacco brand for these poor countries trying to limit tobacco branding. And they came up with Jeff the Diseased Lung.<\/p>\n

Last Week with John Oliver then took out billboard ads in Uruguay and sent t-shirts to Togo with the Jeff the Diseased Lung logo, telling the tobacco companies, ‘it’s all yours. The brand is there, you can use it, our lawyers won’t sue you.”<\/p>\n

Very subversive and very funny. (Hopefully YouTube doesn’t take this down after a week.)<\/p>\n