Quote (ThatAlex @ Aug 18 2016 12:03am)

It's true that 2 out of 3 smokers do not die from a smoking-related illness. But that is an extremely misleading thing to tell uneducated people because smoking is highly associated with smoking-related illnesses.

Like I said, his stances on public health issues probably won't have much to do with his role as VP (unless he breaks a tie in the Senate over a public health bill or becomes president himself), but what do you think it reveals about his character?

Do you think he was acting as a corporate sellout for the tobacco industry to try and downplay the negative effects of smoking or do you think he fails to grasp the concept of relative risk?

Please refrain from bringing up how HRC is a sellout. We all know this, and its an aspect of her candidacy that Trump supporters criticize so you might think they'd criticize it with Trump's runningmate, too. Disavow this type of unethical behavior!

Quote (ThatAlex @ Aug 17 2016 08:03pm)

Be honest with yourself. Pence was acting extremely misleading in this op-ed. Any time you have to back track to say that smoking actually isn't good for people, you've probably made a really misleading claim before that.

It's also important to keep in mind that people are extremely unedcuated about public health topics, and that telling them that only 2 out of 3 smokers don't die from smoking-related illnesses is potentially very destructive for public health. Especially with something as bad as smoking, where smokers are often looking for any piece of evidence to justify continuing smoking when they actually know it's bad.

Personally, I don't think he is intentionally denying science, either. I think he's smarter than that. Looks like a straight-forward case of being a sellout to the tobacco industry to me. He's also said that condoms "are a very, very poor protection against sexually transmitted diseases."

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Under the current Senate version, the deal would require the creation of 17 new government bureaucracies to manage the tax windfall described above. But it is also about big government on a much more profound scale, namely, government big enough to protect us from ourselves.

Quote (EndlessSky @ 17 Aug 2016 23:27)

It reveals that you disagree with Pence about authoritarian laws...

I don't see why other people's choices are of my concern here.

Quote (majorblood @ 17 Aug 2016 23:28)

I will strongly disagree with you on the argument that the public is extremely uneducated on the risks of smoking, it's on every cigarette package. It reveals that he prefers educating people and giving them a choice rather than big government telling you what's best for you and controlling your decision making. I agree that the phrase "smoking doesn't kill" is poor phrasing but the idea he is pushing here is not something I disagree with.

Quote (ThatAlex @ Aug 17 2016 08:40pm)

Do you think Pence was acting as a shill for the tobacco industry? He's recieved money from them.



Like I said, people know smoking is bad for them, but it's very hard to quit. Saying things like 2 out of 3 smokers don't die due to smoking-related illness could give many smokers less of a reason to quit.

Addiction isn't a logical thing, and Pence's op-ed could easily descrease the odds that some smokers would quit. They want to hear facts like that, even if they truly know in their hearts that smoking is bad. Drug use is not a reasonable thing, it's a complicated public health issue.

Do you defend Trump and his campaign at every turn or do you objectively analyze each independent topic?

Melania Trump's speech writer plagiarized Michelle Trump's speech word-for-word in one section and you said it was not plagiarized at the time, did you not? Was that objective analysis? Trump's campaign later apologized for that.

You must disavow, friend! Pence was acting as a shill for the tobacco industry. He later got money from them. The link is obvious. If Trump supporters criticize Hillary for selling out to Wall Street and Saudia Arabia, they must also criticize Pence's previous political behavior, even if it's not on as big of scale. It's the principle.

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This is not to say that smoking is good for you.... news flash: smoking is not good for you. If you are reading this article through the blue haze of cigarette smoke you should quit.

Quote (ThatAlex @ Aug 18 2016 12:40am)

Do you think Pence was acting as a shill for the tobacco industry? He's recieved money from them.

Quote (thundercock @ Aug 18 2016 12:41am)

Pence is right. Smoking doesn't cause cancer.

Quote (majorblood @ 17 Aug 2016 23:56)

In reply to your addicts thing Pence said You agree what Pence said about 2 out of 3 smokers thing is a fact. Do you think Pence should warp reality and tell lies in order to maybe convince addicts to stop smoking?
I greatly prefer someone uses facts and lets you come to your own decisions rather than big government regulation 'protecting' you from yourself.

I don't remember saying it was not plagiarized. I think I did post a meme about it all being part of President Trump's master plan because it was funny.

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-In a 2000 debate, Pence acknowledged he had received an estimated $5,000 and $10,000 in contributions from tobacco companies.

-A May 2000 letter from the Reynolds PAC to Pence, now available in the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents archive archives, conveyed a $1,000 check and praised his “position on issues important to our company.”

-Pence received at least $39,000 from R.J. Reynolds and more than $60,000 from the National Association of Convenience Stores

-Pence’s now-defunct family business, Kiel Bros. Oil, operated a chain of more than 200 cigarette and gasoline convenience stores. Pence’s financial disclosures from 2000 to 2003 noted six-figure holdings and at least $15,000 in annual income from the company. The stores, which operated under the name “Tobacco Road,” closed in 2004 in the face of higher cigarette taxes and more online tobacco sales.

-In 2009, Pence was one of just 97 people in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against the bipartisan Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

-In 2010, Altria/Phillip Morris, Lorillard, and R.J. Reynolds/Reynolds American have combined to contribute at least $63,500 to his 2012 and 2016 campaigns, according to data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

-In 2015, Pence signed a law making it easier to create cigar bars in the state

Quote (ThatAlex @ Aug 18 2016 01:04am)

I don't think that Pence should warp reality, I just think he should be more honest and less of a shill for the tobacco industry, one of the most disgusting industries around.

The fact that 1 out of 3 smokers die from a smoking-related illness (the converse of his statement) is extremely alarming and statistically significant. Pence has also said: “Pence clarified that he wrote that there was no causal link medically identifying smoking as causing lung cancer." which is scientifically false.

If his op-ed really was designed to warn people about the risks of smoking, he wouldn't have backtracked into the situation where he was saying "This is not to say that smoking is good for you."

This was a clear shilling for the tobacco industry. Here's further proof of his selling-out:



You should know a shill when you see one!

Quote (EndlessSky @ 18 Aug 2016 00:20)

That would only be bribery if he changed his stance after receiving a significant contribution.

This just looks like he was consistent the whole time.

Quote (ThatAlex @ Aug 17 2016 09:04pm)

I don't think that Pence should warp reality, I just think he should be more honest and less of a shill for the tobacco industry, one of the most disgusting industries around.

The fact that 1 out of 3 smokers die from a smoking-related illness (the converse of his statement) is extremely alarming and statistically significant. Pence has also said: “Pence clarified that he wrote that there was no causal link medically identifying smoking as causing lung cancer." which is scientifically false.

If his op-ed really was designed to warn people about the risks of smoking, he wouldn't have backtracked into the situation where he was saying "This is not to say that smoking is good for you."

This was a clear shilling for the tobacco industry. Here's further proof of his selling-out:



You should know a shill when you see one!