Canada

As the compensation begins to flow with initial payouts on Friday, advocates are calling on the provinces to invest that cash into tobacco-reduction strategies.

Good idea. There's also a gap when it comes to addressing non-smokers experiencing smoking-related health issues, so anything aimed at tobacco-reduction would benefit that group as well.

If the tobacco companies "want" to throw money at the situation instead of finding a sustainable solution, we should be suing them on the regular to get that money. A one-time payout, whatever the amount, is a drop in the ocean compared to the money spent advertising tobacco.

We've been watching I Love Lucy. At first I downloaded it and the file was all chopped up. The story didn'tflow smoothly, and so we found the original broadcast files and discovered why. In a 25 minute show, fully 10 minutes is intense Phillip Morris commercials, embedded in the show. They don't cut to commercials, but an "expert" (authoritative-sounding white man) walks you through the ideal day, smoking constantly. At breakfast, at your job, playing golf. There are at least 4 different styles (live action "expert", animated Lucy and Ricky, live-action Lucy and Ricky, and what is clearly intended to be a young boy in the role of those old timey movie theatre concessions clerks or something making personal recommendations , and I feel SO fortunate that we don't live in this world any longer.

24 billion is NOTHING to these ghouls. Make 'em pay.