1949 TV commercial from Camel cigarettes.

Chief Executive Louis C. Camilleri is as big a liar as his counterparts were during the 1994 tobacco hearings when they claimed they “believed” cigarettes weren’t addictive and didn’t cause cancer.

That was then. This is now. Via the L.A. Times:

The head of cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. told a cancer nurse Wednesday that although cigarettes were harmful and addictive, it was not that hard to quit. [...]

[The nurse, Elisabeth Gundersen of UC San Francisco] said a patient told her last week that of all the addictions he had beaten — crack, cocaine, methamphetamine — cigarettes had been the most difficult.

How evolved of Louis to admit smoking is unhealthy (sarcasm). How devolved of Louis to insist that they can be kicked effortlessly (outrage).

By the way, genius, if something is addictive, that pretty much means it’s “hard to quit”:

Addiction

Definition

Addiction is a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance. The term has been partially replaced by the word dependence for substance abuse.

Description

Addiction is one of the most costly public health problems in the United States. It is a progressive syndrome, which means that it increases in severity over time unless it is treated. Substance abuse is characterized by frequent relapse, or return to the abused substance. Substance abusers often make repeated attempts to quit before they are successful.