How the green rush is killing Big Tobacco's buzz

The tobacco industry is losing grip on the roots of America. While a new leaf is growing on the horizon.

"Profit-over-people” is an unfortunate theme of industries dominated by only a few of companies. Tobacco is one of those industries.

Big Tobacco reaps hundreds-of-billions of dollars in revenue at the expense of human health and lives.

We'll gracefully skip over the lecture on how tobacco is one of the worst poisons we regularly consume intentionally.

And I'll quickly note, tobacco kills over 6 million people per year according to the World Health Organization.

Yet, the industry still makes over $600 Billion in a year… $600 BILLION. 

$600,000,000,000 ... wtf

But the green rush is moving in on the Big Tobacco empire.

As cannabis legalization gains momentum, the tobacco industry is losing traction.

Quit Frontin'

Front groups, third-party organizations, and individual donors associated with Big Tobacco are losing credibility and burning their reputation like a fresh-lit Marlboro.

From publishing fake research, to executives committing perjury in federal court denying nicotine has any addictive properties... Big Tobacco has lost just about all credibility in the last decade.

Nobody is buying their bullshit anymore.

So they start working in the shadows - leveraging other people to do their dirty work.

Big tobacco funds third-party organizations to fight for tobacco at local and federal levels.

• Tobacco-funded "restaurant associations" fight against smoking bans in cities.
• Tobacco-funded "national research centers" release publications denying or downplaying negative effects of smoking.
• Tobacco-funded "civil rights groups" fight against cigarette bans and taxes.

Tobacco companies are playing "quarterback" behind the scenes by funding social organizations and public officials. 

Take a look at this mind-boggling chart from the Tobacco Control Organization.

A complex chart from the Tobacco Control Organization portrays tobacco companies' funding patterns among individuals and organizations.

With clever names like "Americans for Prosperity" and the "National Center for Public Policy Research" - tobacco companies influence public policy without most Americans even knowing.

However, even the hidden empire of Big Tobacco is losing credibility. Thanks to a more collaborative information era; we have the power to expose corruption and disrupt massive social systems. And people are catching on to what's going on behind the scenes.

But the industry is still fighting. To combat against losing influence and credibility with the public, Big Tobacco is doubling down on their stake in government.

Loading Up The Lobbyists

Tobacco lobbyists' funding has increased every year since 2010. Aggressively amplifying their claim with a 30% spike in funding from 2014 to 2016.

Increased funding in lobbying means business or war. Often, a blurry combination of both.

Big tobacco uses lobbying power for 2 things:

1. To propose policies that support tobacco/cigarette consumption. (Public policies, local laws, lower taxes)
2. To eliminate and complicate competition of any products, companies, or industries that pose a threat to their profits. (Cannabis, e-cigs, vaping)

These efforts help ensure cigarettes and tobacco products are conveniently accessible anywhere and everywhere. 

Tobacco companies are aware of their products' health risks and realize that safer alternatives will reduce their profits. So they do everything they can to keep cannabis and other competitors illegal. 

New research is revealing how cannabis can even help people quit cigarettes. It's one more reason why big tobacco is trembling at the dawn of the green revolution.

Big Tobacco is predicting and preparing for the big storm brewing ahead.

Going Green - An Economic Revolution

The "green rush" will go down as in history as an economic revolution when the potential of cannabis is realized. As people discover the positive benefits of cannabis, the market is shifting at a dramatic pace.

Among many social benefits; cannabis legalization helps save lives from tobacco-related deaths. A new generation of agriculture and technology is emerging - which disrupts the 'empire era' of the entire tobacco industry.

Cannabis is fighting against tobacco. Industrially and literally.

A double-blind research study from London reveals, CBD (cannabidiol), an active cannabinioid found in cannabis, is actually an effective treatment for quitting cigarettes.

And even people who don't quit smoking all together still have a safer option - switching to cannabis.

 "Cumulative marijuana use is not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function."

Source: American Medical Association (CARDIA study 2012)

Unlike cigarettes, long-term cannabis use is far less risky for your health.

Legal cannabis enables multiple safer alternatives for people to stop smoking cigarettes or using other tobacco products:

1. Switching (to cannabis vaping) - Simply switching to cannabis instead of tobacco can allow smokers to make a fair compromise that is safer in the long run.
2. Quitting (with edibles or CBD oil) - Users wanting to quit cigarettes could access CBD based products at a local dispensary to reduce cigarette use by 40%
3. Quitting (CBD inhaler) - Users wanting to quit could access medicinal CBD inhalers to increase their chances by 40%

If we could save 40% of the lives claimed by tobacco - over 2 million people would live to spend another day in this world each year.

The cannabis industry will thrive with a more patient-focused attitude in the market. Advances in medicinal, therapeutic, and recreational benefits will enhance the value, safety, and experience of cannabis over time.

Millions of people are being held back from a chance at changing their lives.

Many cigarette consumers are caught between the grips of physical addiction and mastermind marketing.

We deserve to give people access to safer alternatives or opportunities to quit.

Take action.

Don't let Big Tobacco control the fate of our generation.

Support cannabis legalization today for access to safer alternatives.

Donate to NORML. Donate to the MPP.

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