Tobacco Settlement Bill in Congress

So now the tobacco companies have pulled out of the settlement being worked out in Congress and are crying that the $506-billion payment would bankrupt them. How shameless can they get? The vast majority of that total, an enormous sum to be sure, will be coming out of the pockets of the addicted consumer in the form of a tax imposed by the government. A tax, get it? Just like any other tax. Except this one is consistently and erroneously being referred to as an industry payment, most recently, even by Robert Reich (Commentary, April 10).

Tobacco industry profits, in fact will remain high. A study by securities firm Sanford C. Bernstein showed industry profits at $6.7 billion, post-settlement. That’s billion! And that does not take into account a certain hike in prices internationally, where the majority of tobacco sales take place. That market is growing and unaffected by this settlement. Bankruptcy? Shame on them. And shame on the media and politicians for not calling them on it.

JOSEPH URLA

Los Angeles

* The troubadours behind the anti-tobacco movement vow their goal is to tax tobacco beyond our children’s means. This smacks of another piece of unenforceable legislation to penalize all of us except our children.

When will they ever learn legislating social customs, mores and morality doesn’t work.

BILL LASHBROOK

Rancho Palos Verdes

* As a stop-smoking therapist for 10 years, one fact has become clear to me; the earlier one begins smoking the harder it is to quit. With an average smoker spending $1,000 per year and a million teens beginning smoking each year in the U.S., the tobacco industry has a billion-dollar motive to encourage teens to become smokers.

The only way to stop these drug-dealing tobacco companies is to hit them in the “profit pocket” by fining them. If the tobacco companies were punished $10,000 for every minor caught smoking, that billion dollars of revenue would soon turn into a $10-billion liability. Don’t just punish the retail seller or the buyer, punish the manufacturer and promoter and we will quickly see the industry come up with “miraculous” new ways to stop teen addiction.

The $506-billion settlement is a drop in the bucket for these companies. Don’t raise the price of cigarettes--that’s no deterrent. An addict will always pay more. Instead take away company profits!

MARTYN ST. MICHAEL

Marina del Rey