In 2005, Philip Morris International (PMI) entered into an agreement to purchase Sampoerna, the third largest cigarette manufacturer in Indonesia:

“This is an excellent development for our shareholders and employees,” said Sampoerna President Commissioner Putera Sampoerna. “PMI is well known as a successful and responsible manufacturer and marketer of quality tobacco products.”

And, on Philip Morris USA’s website I found the following quote:

“We support a variety of programs and initiatives to help reduce underage access to tobacco products, fund organizations that provide kids with the support they need to make healthy decisions, and support the development of tools for parents to help them raise kids who don’t use any tobacco products.”

Philip Morris would appear to be totally committed to manufacturing and marketing its tobacco products responsibly, actively striving to prevent children from becoming addicted to cigarettes at an early age. With that in mind, please take a moment to view the following HBO video which first aired in May of 2013:

Apparently, Philip Morris International is only as responsible as local laws and customs regarding sales of tobacco products to children are concerned. Since Indonesia’s government turns its back on the health and well-being of its citizens, Philip Morris sees a huge opportunity to make billions of dollars while shortening the lives of millions of Indonesians. Where is the world outrage?

According to Wikipedia online, “USD $43 billion in International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid in 2004 was sent as foreign aid to Indonesia, and this assistance has traditionally been an important part of the central government’s budget.”

Historically, the US and other civilized nations have been known to withhold or reduce aid to those countries that fail to treat its citizens equally and civilly – especially when it comes to their children and minorities. So why does the US and others continue to send aid to Indonesia when its government does nothing to protect its children against the greedy claws of conglomerates like Philip Morris?

Many people are switching to e-cigarettes thinking they’re the answer to their smoking addictions. As the following video reveals, these electronic solutions are not safe for anybody who already suffers from a compromised breathing condition. In addition, even though the FDA and the World Health Organization have called for them to be thoroughly tested for potential dangers (as any new product that we ingest into our bodies should be,) such testing has yet to be conducted. Therefore, the full range of their effect even on healthy people is not yet known.

We veterans of the Loma Linda VA Medical Center are frequently privileged to assist Dr. Linda Ferry as she teaches students at the Loma Linda University School of Medicine about all aspects of tobacco addiction, along with proven methods for quitting. Dr. Ferry’s decades of research and experience, in combination with testimony from former smokers like us, come together to form a powerful exercise in learning.

Perhaps one aspect of tobacco use that’s especially difficult for many young medical students to grasp is why, given the obvious medical problems associated with smoking, so many people begin smoking when they do and why they continue to smoke, even after their health begins to deteriorate as a result. It’s a rather complicated question, but what many people don’t realize is that in addition to the physical, habitual, and psychological aspects of nicotine addiction, there are powerful social and cultural influences that continue to be handed down from one generation to the next. In fact, many medical students today are shocked to learn that there was a time not that long ago when their own predecessors (doctors, dentists, nurses, and other medical professionals) openly endorsed, recommended, and encouraged cigarette smoking.

This was accomplished through magazine, newspaper, and billboard ads, along with radio and television commercials.

In addition to paying for medical endorsements, tobacco companies and their marketing campaigns have methodically targeted various groups within the general population – including women, teenagers, children, racial minorities, and (quite heavily) members of our military, both at home and abroad. Although the majority of these advertising practices have been outlawed in our own country, their influence is still felt today. As baby boomers, the psychological wiring that affected our attitudes toward smoking as a result of those early advertising practices continue to haunt us. In addition to influences from the various forms of media, as children we observed and followed in the footsteps of our parents and grandparents who had already been brainwashed for years by the tobacco companies into thinking that smoking was a healthy and acceptable social practice.

The Stanford School of Medicine has an entire research group dedicated to the study of tobacco advertising and its impact on society. SRITA (Stanford Research Into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising) is a research group which analyzes the effects of tobacco advertising, marketing, and promotion. Participants in this interdisciplinary program include faculty and students from several Stanford School of Medicine departments as well as the departments of History and Anthropology. Visit their site at http://tobacco.stanford.edu/ to learn more about their efforts and to see some fascinating examples of tobacco advertising through history.