Appalled but not surprised. The Harvard news service has just released a study of the nicotine content of cigarettes from 1997-2005. The nicotine content has steadily risen by 1.6 % each year to a total of 11% more nicotine. I really dislike smoking, and I think the tobacco companies are among the most unethical corporate entities in the world.
I am really happy to see that over half the American population lives in places where smoking is banned in public places (bars, restaurants, etc), and hope at some point the tobacco companies are regulated out of business. Some people will complain about the economic impact and the loss of jobs that will result. The government also tries to put marijuana dealers and other criminals out of business, and people don't make an economic argument against that. With over 400,000 tobacco-related deaths every year, these guys should go out of business. Yes, I know there are lots of regular folks across the south that grow tobacco as a cash crop to supplement their income. I'd be happy to have the U.S. Department of Agriculture help them grow something else to replace it.