What's not to love with the entirely 21st century phenomenon of binge-watching really pricey productions of subscription TV programs like Stranger Things, MadMen, Peaky Blinders and House of Cards. No commercials, amazing costumes, decent script writing, 21st century special effect and lots and lots of cigarettes. Watching for hours a day people we admire smoking cigarettes? Haven’t we seen this movie? Tobacco use in entertainment "bottomed out" in the 1980s and is now back to 1960s levels. Back then cigarettes were everywhere, most notably in movies. Lung cancer went from a rare cancer to the most common. Why? Was it to make the story characters we’re watching on film more believable or heroic? Or was it to make money for those underwriting the production by addicting to their products those looking for a happy ending? Tobacco companies say they aren’t financing the sudden popularity of cigarettes in binge-watch entertainment today. Wouldn’t it be nice if, instead of simply trusting those willing to kill customers to make a profit, the entertainment industry was compelled to reveal who their underwriters are? Then again, if we can’t get our public officials to reveal who they owe money to, how will Hollywood?
Why We Waste
Leave it to Hollywood to make carcinogens cool. Got to wonder what was in it for them
Cigarettes
Sodas: A Sweet Deal
Take the profits and the public pays the price: The American Way
Nothing is more American than Coca Cola and Pepsi. At least that’s what Coke and Pepsi have spent 120 years and something north of $1 trillion getting you to believe. Thanks to their hard work and sacrifice average Americans today annually drink 44 gallons of soda containing 10 pounds of addictive sweeteners that fast-tract diabetes. Here’s the cool part. Diabetes has increased 3-fold since 1990. That was about the time 7-11 and Coca Cola teamed up to introduced half-gallon, to-go soda cups and self-serve fountains. Slumping sales for both businesses got a sudden jolt as did the nation’s five-to-15 age group and a variety of peripheral businesses. An entire diabetes publishing industry was born while sales of diabetes products and services skyrocketed, mostly notably to people receiving public healthcare assistance. So, who can blame these businesses for freaking out when NY City Mayor Mike Bloomberg proposed banning sales of these portable cisterns of soda. Hey Mike, get with the program. Restricting commerce in lethal products reverberates throughout the economy. It’s bad for business and that’s anti-American.
