It's Time To Shun Lying Tobacco
Executives
David Cox, former president and
chief executive officer of Cowles Media Co., wrote an op-ed in the (Minnesota)
STAR TRIBUNE stating his fears that the public will assume that the behavior
of tobacco executives is representative of all businesspeople:
"The documents released through discovery in the Minnesota trial,
and the statements of tobacco executives who testified, show beyond any
doubt that these people and their predecessors consistently, brazenly, lie.
If they are 'businesspeople,' then I want a new name for what I have been
all my working life.
. . . Principled businesspeople must shun those who run tobacco companies
or run the risk of being considered to share the same values. These are
people and companies who should be shunned - outlawed from business groups
and professional associations. Investment bankers, auditors, lawyers and
agencies should not want to have their good names tied to tobacco."
Source(s): (Minnesota) STAR TRIBUNE, (11/19/98) "Counterpoint: It's
Time To Shun Lying Tobacco Execs", David Cox,