America joining the EU
Senior Chief
Banned
I don't know. We already do business all over Europe as well as into the middle east?
major liability
Active member
America is already pretty close to Europe.
Besides, I don't think France would let us in. :shoothea:
Besides, I don't think France would let us in. :shoothea:
mmarsh
Active member
Your mistaken on the last part. The UK is a founding member of the EU. What the UK hasn't done is adopt the Euro (yet). This is due to the fact that their economy is so strong, they dont want to accept a weaker currency. Should the pound start to lose its value...
Despite this, I will also point out that many shops in the UK (espically the big retailers) do accept payment in Euros in addition to the Pound Sterling.
In other words you can go to Herrods of London and pay in Euros.
Damien435
Active member
The EU was formed to rival the United States as the world's only superpower. (Ironically that role will soon be filled by China and the EU will remain a second rate power because of their lack of total unity.) The US and EU may see eye to eye on some issues but the United States will never join the European Union, the EU has been passing law after law to hinder US trade with Europe, our leaders won't soon forget that and may not be so quick to forgive the EU for what we consider to be slights against us. The best example? The EU has banned certain American companies from selling their products (in this case make-up) because the EU has (fabricated) evidence that these products can cause cancer. Yet everywhere you go in Europe you see people smoking in public.
mmarsh
Active member
Damien
Thats true, but the US has done exactly the same thing, perhaps you remember the stink about the steel tarifs? When Bush (mainly to curry votes in West Virginia) imposed taxes or Foreign steel. The US and EU are competitors and each will do whatever it takes to keep the other out of its market.
As for Tobacco, I happen to work for a major tobacco company so I can tell you for a fact thats about to change. Next year Laws are about to go into effect that will ban smoking in Public places in France, The Netherlands, and the UK. The rest of Western Europe will soon follow suit.
Needless to say, while its good for the country, its a disaster for our business...
Thats true, but the US has done exactly the same thing, perhaps you remember the stink about the steel tarifs? When Bush (mainly to curry votes in West Virginia) imposed taxes or Foreign steel. The US and EU are competitors and each will do whatever it takes to keep the other out of its market.
As for Tobacco, I happen to work for a major tobacco company so I can tell you for a fact thats about to change. Next year Laws are about to go into effect that will ban smoking in Public places in France, The Netherlands, and the UK. The rest of Western Europe will soon follow suit.
Needless to say, while its good for the country, its a disaster for our business...
Donkey
Active member
I dont know if I would go as far to say that China will be a superpower anytime soon...While they are making great strides they still have a lot of work to do and with them being one of the most poluted countries in the world they have a lot of cleaning up to do as well...
I mean how are they going to sustain a superpower state without any clean water to drink????
BTW the UK wasnt a founding member they didnt join until 1973
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/europe/04/enlarging_europe/html/eu_expansion.stm
I mean how are they going to sustain a superpower state without any clean water to drink????
BTW the UK wasnt a founding member they didnt join until 1973
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/europe/04/enlarging_europe/html/eu_expansion.stm
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bulldogg
Milforum's Bouncer
Now this smoking ban... is it just for tobacco smoking or will it also affect the semi-annual Paris riots as well??
:lol:
major liability
Active member
Ban tobacco and legalize marijuana... Sounds about right to me.
Senior Chief
Banned
I'm sorry you are working in that industry. I feel that the tobacco industry, worldwide, deals death to the people of the world.
Damien435
Active member
I view the tobacco industry in the same light as all other industries, they are merely supplying the demand, so long as people continue smoking they will keep producing, since smoking is legal I don't see companies as having done anything wrong. I don't get mad at the tobacco companies, I get mad at the idiots who continue to buy and use their products at the expense of their own bodies. It amazes me that with all we know about the harms of tobacco today that thousands of people light up for the first time everyday.
Donkey
Active member
mmarsh
Active member
Senior Chief + others
Our products will kill you. But then again so do those of Colt, Kalishinkov, Dessault, and any other of the arms manufactuers. Ours just kill more slowly...
The only consolation I get is that we are a Cigar company. Cigars have no nicotine and therefore are not addictive like cigarettes or alcohol. Therefore if you want to stop smoking, you can just stop. There is no addiction, withdrawal, etc. Cigars can cause cancer, but if you are unfortunate to catch it you cannot blame addiction.
That might be a lame excuse but it does help me sleep.
Damien
You are right. Supply and Demand. The thing is cigarettes are designed to keep you smoking. Not only is that immoral, but breaking that dependency is very difficult. And of course the industry continues to deny that they do this. Even though its a commonly known secret.
Our products will kill you. But then again so do those of Colt, Kalishinkov, Dessault, and any other of the arms manufactuers. Ours just kill more slowly...
The only consolation I get is that we are a Cigar company. Cigars have no nicotine and therefore are not addictive like cigarettes or alcohol. Therefore if you want to stop smoking, you can just stop. There is no addiction, withdrawal, etc. Cigars can cause cancer, but if you are unfortunate to catch it you cannot blame addiction.
That might be a lame excuse but it does help me sleep.
Damien
You are right. Supply and Demand. The thing is cigarettes are designed to keep you smoking. Not only is that immoral, but breaking that dependency is very difficult. And of course the industry continues to deny that they do this. Even though its a commonly known secret.
Senior Chief
Banned
Your credibility just took a direct hit. You might want to question the person or persons that told you there is no nicotine in your products.
You might want to check out the following:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_2_1x_Cigar_Smoking_Skyrockets.asp
Cigar Smoking SkyrocketsCigar Smoking Skyrockets
Their findings concur with those of many scientists, who noted a sharp decline in the prevalence of cigar smoking from 1964 to 1991, then a resurgence in popularity, particularly among younger adults, over the past few years. According to the Cigar Association of America, two billion cigars were sold to 10 million cigar smokers in 1994, the first year of a marked increase in sales. In 1996, 4.4 billion cigars were sold, marking a 45 percent increase in sales since 1993. Many people believe these increases are due in large part because of manufacturer's marketing and advertising efforts, celebrity endorsements of cigars as glamorous and acceptable, and the linking of cigars and the supposed good life in TV shows, movies, and magazines.
Researchers also noted the public may think cigar smoking is a safer and less addictive alternative to cigarettes. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, cancer deaths among cigar smokers are 34 percent higher than among nonsmokers. They also state cigar smoking causes cancers of the larynx, oral cavity, esophagus, and lungs. Just like cigarettes, cigars contain nicotine.
A 1996 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found an estimated six million US teenagers aged 14-19 had smoked at least one cigar within the past year.
Here are some other facts about cigars and their usage:
- The carcinogens and cancer-producing chemicals found in cigarettes are also present in cigars.
- Cigar smokers have three times the risk of developing lung cancer than nonsmokers, according to a 1985 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI).
- Cigar smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to suffer from persistent coughs, phlegm, and are at increased risk of peptic ulcers, according to a 1987 issue of The American Journal of Public Health.
- Concentrations in tar and nicotine are much higher in cigars than cigarettes, according to a study in a 1988 edition of Preventative Medicine. In a presentation at a June 1998 American Cancer Society conference on the health risks of cigar smoking, scientist Jack Henningfield, PhD, vice president of research and health policy at Pinney Associates noted the amounts of nicotine in cigars. "A study of 10 cigar types showed that cigars contain amounts of nicotine ranging (on the low end) from that equivalent to a single cigarette to (on the high end) that equivalent to an entire pack of cigarettes. Most cigars contain nicotine in quantities equivalent to several cigarettes," he said.
- Exposure to secondhand cigar smoke carries the same risks as exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke, according to an article in the January 10, 1995 edition of TheWashington Post.
- Cigar packages bear no warning from the Surgeon General, as cigarette packages do.
- The 1990 Budget Reconciliation Act taxes cigars at a federal level of $1.125 per thousand, which equals less than a penny each.
Go Ask Alice!: Cigar and pipe smoking: Safer than cigarettes? [SIZE=-1]Since cigars are much larger than cigarettes, each one packs more punch. Some large cigars contain as much tobacco (and nicotine) as an entire pack of ...[/SIZE]
CCAA - Cigar History [SIZE=-1]The main substance in both cigars and cigarettes that makes quitting so difficult is nicotine. An average cigar an contain four times more nicotine than a ...[/SIZE]
Questions and Answers About Cigar Smoking and Cancer
[SIZE=-1]Both inhaled and noninhaled nicotine can be addictive. The infrequent use by the average cigar smoker, low number of cigars smoked per day, and lower rates ...[/SIZE]
Cigar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [SIZE=-1]Two men who died during the zenith of the cigar's popularity owing ultimately to nicotine addiction and the consequent oral cancer were President Ulysses S. ...[/SIZE]
Cigar Smoking - The Facts [SIZE=-1]Most cigars contain nicotine in quantities equivalent to several cigarettes. Nicotine is the agent in tobacco and tobacco smoke capable of producing ...[/SIZE]
And those are just a few from a topical Google search.
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CABAL
Active member
This thread is getting way off track.
This question has nothing to do with Politics. Instead the EU's existance is primarily for economic purposes.
The main purpose of the EU is to form a trade barrier and to create a stronger, more flexible currency.
The US uses the dollar. The EU uses the Euros. Euros are not pegged to the dollar and in fact gaining momentum in the FOREX than the USD. More and more foreign currencies are beginning to peg to the Euro instead.
So therefore the US cannot join the EU because its currency is different.
The only possible way the EU and US can intergrate economically is to stride for Globalization.
Joining the EU does not necesarily means that it will boost the US economy. The EU and the US are in the same development stage and are COMPETING each other. Heres an example: Boeing is to US while Airbus is to Europe.
In fact the more profitable and bigger markets is located in the fastest developing nations such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, etc.
This question has nothing to do with Politics. Instead the EU's existance is primarily for economic purposes.
The main purpose of the EU is to form a trade barrier and to create a stronger, more flexible currency.
The US uses the dollar. The EU uses the Euros. Euros are not pegged to the dollar and in fact gaining momentum in the FOREX than the USD. More and more foreign currencies are beginning to peg to the Euro instead.
So therefore the US cannot join the EU because its currency is different.
The only possible way the EU and US can intergrate economically is to stride for Globalization.
EU is part of the WTO and has already imported many US products.
Joining the EU does not necesarily means that it will boost the US economy. The EU and the US are in the same development stage and are COMPETING each other. Heres an example: Boeing is to US while Airbus is to Europe.
In fact the more profitable and bigger markets is located in the fastest developing nations such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, etc.
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