Today was the first time I heard Sean Hannity’s voice promoting JUUL vape products on the radio. It made me physically ill. Another high-profile sell-out to the barons of the merging worlds of pot and tobacco.
I don’t know exactly when Hannity sold his soul, but his personal and enthusiastic endorsement of this product coincides with a $12.8 billion dollar investment in JUUL by Altria, the company that owns Phillis Morris and US Smokeless Tobacco. Altria brands include Marlboro, Copenhagen, and Skoal. More importantly, Altria’s investment in JUUL came at the same time that Altria acquired a major stake in the Canadian pot industry.
Since JUUL manufactures one of the most popular devices used by kids to ingest nicotine (as well as marijuana concentrates) it is a match made in heaven for those accustomed to exchanging lives for obscene profits.
Of course, the Hannity JUUL commercial was superficially about “responsible adults” and “healthy” alternatives to tobacco, but it was as fake as anything that Altria and other tobacco companies have produced for decades.
Here is an article about Altria’s recent investment in the marijuana industry, followed by Altria’s press release explaining its investment in JUUL.
Marijuana Marlboro And What Altria’s Purchase Of A Canadian Marijuana Maker Means
Altria Makes $12.8 Billion Minority Investment in JUUL to Accelerate Harm Reduction and Drive Growth
http://investor.altria.com/file/Index?KeyFile=396169695
Do these look familar?