Evil Tobacco Exec Encourages Smokers to Live Longer
It's always oddly fascinating to read interviews in which Big Tobacco executives are spoken to like ordinary businessmen rather than like the inhuman monsters that they clearly are. Look, the heartless ogre can talk just like a normal human!
Speaking of which, the WSJ has a new interview with Daniel Delen, the CEO of Camel-maker Reynolds American. "Mr. Delen has smoked since he was 28, but now mostly uses Camel Snus." What sort of freak starts smoking at age 28?? It's already clear we're dealing with a total weirdo. But Delen, who made just over $6 million last year, really lets his psychopath mask slip here:
WSJ: What are the advantages for Reynolds of moving consumers to smokeless tobacco?
Mr. Delen: We have about a 30% [operating] margin on cigarettes and about 50% on smokeless, so there are benefits that way. But it's not just about the bottom line. You start looking at long-term sustainability.
Haha, "long-term sustainability" is tobacco executivespeak for "the types of cancers you tend to get from 'Snus' tend to kill you more slowly than the heart disease and strokes and cancers you get from smoking cigarettes, meaning that you stick around for several years longer, buying more 'Snus,' before you thoughtlessly pass away and erode our customer base." So please, American smokers, do Reynolds Tobacco CEO Daniel Delen a favor, and try some Camel Snus. Your death would be a tragedy—for long-term sustainability.
