In his June 10 letter, Japan Tobacco working to cut risks," the Japan Tobacco Inc. general manager for media and investor relations, Hideyuki Yamamoto, states that a Japan Tobacco representative was misquoted in a recent article as saying that "we don't believe smoking causes cancer."
I would have hoped to see Yamamoto go further and back up his claim by admitting that smoking does cause cancer. And, if Japan Tobacco is working on cigarettes that reduce health risks, why not conduct a recall of all tobacco products that do cause cancer until such a healthy cigarette is produced?
If any food or drink that contained the toxic cocktail that tobacco does went on sale, there would be an uproar and it would be quickly dragged off the shelves. Could Yamamoto please explain why his company, and the investors he represents, think that selling toxic tobacco is different from selling a toxic food or drink?