The undead just keep on coming

It happened every year. My mother owned some shares of stock in the Phillip Morris corporation; at Christmas, the tobacco company would send her a beautifully wrapped package containing a selection of packs of their cigarette brands -- Winstons, Newports, Marlboros, etc. She was charmed and loyal. Smoking was a habit she'd picked up as a teenager in the 1920s. It branded her as mature and modern -- oh yeah. This was before the 1964 Surgeon's General Report which stated unequivocally that smoking caused cancer and numerous other diseases. By then her generation was hooked, as were many of my generation coming along a little latter. The stroke which eventually killed her certainly had damage from decades of smoking as a contributing cause.

So I can't say I was happy to see versions of this in the business sections of major media:

Philip Morris and Altria Are in Talks to Merge
With Altria’s investment in Juul, a combination of the tobacco giants would dominate the international market for e-cigarettes. The tobacco giants Philip Morris International and the Altria Group are in talks to reunite, the companies said on Tuesday, in a deal that would combine the most popular brands of both traditional and electronic cigarettes.

... The number of cigarettes sold in the United States fell 3.5 percent in 2017 from the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The e-cigarette market was worth about $11 billion in 2018, and it is projected to surpass $18 billion by 2024, according to a report from Mordor Intelligence, a market research firm.

... “This is very dangerous for public health,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “There’s a real concern that a strengthened Philip Morris poses an increased threat to tobacco control measures both in the United States and around the globe.”

The zombies just keep on coming. ...Meanwhile in San Francisco, the zombies are fighting for their lives and their business plan to hook yet more generations.

Juul Spending Money Like A Drunken Sailor To Overturn E-Cigarette Ban
It’s terrible timing for the electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul that lung illnesses believed to be related to e-cigarette use have just been reported in 14 states. These 94 cases of still-unsolved lung illness tied to vaping come less than three months before San Francisco votes on Prop. C,  a November ballot measure meant to undo the San Francisco vapor product sales ban, and sponsored by the vape company Juul.

But Juul has an important weapon to sway voters ⁠— a whole lot of dollars. 

Juul has spent more than $4.5 million on their measure to defeat the vaping ban according to campaign filings at the San Francisco Ethics Commission.

Juul is promoting its drug delivery system through the misleadingly named "Coalition for Reasonable Vaping Regulation." They claim, falsely, that Measure C would protect people under 18 from their addiction machine. Expect to drown in lying direct mail, ads, and door hangers until November. No on C.