[Licensed-to-Kill] Rich Fromdeth commends Twin Cities council members

[Licensed to Kill, Inc]

Commentary: =91Tobacco firm=92 thanks council
PULSE of the Twin Cities
News http://www.pulsetc.com/article.php?sid=3D1203

Wednesday, 14 July 2004

by Rich Fromdeth

Licensed to Kill, Inc., a tobacco company incorporated in Virginia,
commends certain Twin City politicians =97 Minneapolis council members
Lisa Goodman, Sandy Colvin-Roy, Barret Lane, Barbara Johnson and Paul
Ostrow with St. Paul council members Pat Harris, Dan Bostrom, and Debbie
Montgomery =97 for stalling and questioning efforts to banish tobacco
smoke pollution from all workplaces. It is heartening to know there are
leaders still willing to delay and compromise when it comes to public
health.

Our company also supports St. Paul Mayor Kelly and Minneapolis Mayor
Ryback in vetoing any =93anti-indoor air pollution=94 legislation reaching
their desks. Some say such laws are inevitable. We say, =93What=92s the rus=
h?=94

The Twin Cities remain a critical mid-west haven for tobacco smoke. With
increasing numbers of states and municipalities from coast to coast =97
from San Francisco to New York =97 going =93smoke-free,=94 it=92s wonderful=
 to
live (and die) in a state where one can still =93smoke free-ly.=94 Yes, in =
a
country increasingly hostile t tobacco smoke pollution, Minneapolis and
St. Paul are a fresh breath of dirty air.

If workers or patrons have problems with our Class A (the best)
carcinogens in the air, the solution is simple: don=92t breathe. Our
research indicates it is possible to chow down, guzzle drinks and not
breathe far longer than commonly thought. Many of our own best customers
have stopped breathing all together.

Honestly, who really cares if tobacco smoke pollution kills a few
bartenders and service staff? We=92re glad the mayors of Minneapolis and
St. Paul don=92t find the issue urgent. As long as they keep dawdling, our
industry foresees continued demand.

By why stick with the status quo, when we could reverse the =93clean air=94
ordinances already in place? It is high time to mandate a return to the
smoke-filled legislator offices, theaters, and schools of yesteryear.
After all, why should politicians and teachers be considered any more
sacred than an immigrant dishwasher in a restaurant?

Granted, some lives are worth more than others. For example, our
industry has a stake in the health of industry-friendly politicians, and
groups like Hospitality Minnesota, the MN Licensed Beverage Association,
and both cities=92 Chambers of Commerce. A tobacco-friendly politician or
lobbyist does us no good if they=92re six feet under!

It=92s especially great how the =93hospitality=94 industry has gone to bat =
for
Big Tobacco. The information and money we funneled to them over the
years has certainly paid off =97 so much so that they=92ve completely falle=
n
hook, line, and sinker for our claims that banning cigarette emissions
in bars and restaurants would bring their business to an immediate halt.
(We=92re relieved their travel and visitor specialists don=92t travel or
visit enough to know that restaurants and bars are alive and thriving in
other smoke-free cities, states, and entire countries).

So our company urges Twin City leaders not to be swayed by emotional
appeals. Yes, many of our customers =97 and workers in places they
patronize =97 lie dying in intensive care, lungs ridden with cancer, or
bodies paralyzed by strokes. But that=92s the beauty of the tobacco
business: people actually pay us to kill them and innocent bystanders.

Bad air means good business for us. The more workplaces where people can
smoke, the more cigarettes sold, the more money we make! Profits, not
public health, always are paramount. If you disagree, be glad that there
is no industry with a vested interest in spreading salmonella. Consider
what sanitary regulations would be like...

* Rich Fromdeth is the Chairman and CEO of Licensed to Kill,
incorporated in 2003. Their web site <http://www.licensedtokill.biz>
states, =93We=92re just like other tobacco companies in the business, excep=
t
we tell the truth about our deadly products. Our slogan: =91We=92re Rich,
You=92re Dead!=92=94 *