I'm on the side of the tobacco companies?

I'd say it comes from being raised in NC, but it really doesn't... it comes down, I think, to two things...

One - Nobody makes you smoke. Just like nobody forces you to drink or shoves crappy food down your throat. You do those things. Making someone else abridge their right to speech - yes, even, gag, corporate speech - because you can't be bothered to be accountable for your own choices equals fail #1.

Two - All these rules and regs postulate the fact that people are too stupid to make good decisions for themselves and need government to protect them from evil corporations. While that appeals to my inner elitist [who is much, much smarter than the average person, btw] it's a false dichotomy. A flawed dualism of good guys and bad guys that ultimately is psychologically crippling and gets people in a helpless mindset where they need to be protected.

I think I'm pretty much going to be against any effort to NERF the harsh edges of the world in order to protect people from themselves. Let it all fly and let the chips fall where they may.

Hit & Run; New Tobacco Advertising Limits Challenged in Federal Court - Reason Magazine:

"In June I predicted that the advertising restrictions imposed by the law that authorizes the FDA to regulate tobacco products will be overturned on First Amendment grounds. Yesterday R.J. Reynolds and several other tobacco companies filed a federal lawsuit that challenges the new rules, which include bans on tobacco-brand sponsorship of sporting or entertainment events, on outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet of a school or playground, and on the use of color or pictures in outdoor ads, indoor ads (except those in adult-only businesses), and print ads carried by publications with significant underage readerships. The suit also challenges the new, larger warning labels (which will cover the top half of the front and back on each package), arguing that they will leave too little space for manufacturers' speech, and the prohibition against discussing the relative risks of different tobacco products without the FDA's permission."

I leave you with the master, Bill Hicks -

They proved that if you quit smoking, it will prolong your life. What they haven't proved is that a prolonged life is a good thing. I haven't seen the stats on that yet.

How much do you smoke, sir? Two packs a day, is that right? Pussy. I go through two lighters a day. That's right, two lighters! You're a health nut compared to me. You're like the Jack LaLanne of smokers compared to me.

See, I know you entertain some kind of eternal life fantasy because you've chosen not to smoke; let me be the first to pop that fucking bubble and send you hurtling back to reality – because you're dead too. And you know what doctors say: "Shit, if only you'd smoked, we'd have the technology to help you. It's you people dying from nothing who are screwed."