The Amy Winehouse Visa Hypocrisy
British singer Amy Winehouse, shown performing in November, had been denied a visa to travel to Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards, but authorities reversed their decision.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images for MTV
The off-again/on-again should-we-let-her-in Amy Winehouse visa saga is ... on again! At the 11th hour, the U.S. embassy over in GB rubber-stamped her so that Ms. Winehouse could — if she chooses — participate in Sunday's 50th Annual Grammy Awards. There was no official word as to why she originally got the thumbs down, but I would bet it had something to do with her most recent stab at taking the cure after a 19-minute toke video she starred in was leaked to the U.K. media.
Ironically, Louis C. Camilleri will have no trouble getting his visa stamped when he leaves the country for Switzerland. Mr. Camilleri is the current CEO of Altria Group, which is the parent company of Philip Morris, which is the largest tobacco company in the U.S. And the U.S. is the largest exporter of manufactured cigarettes on the planet, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the world total.
Why is Mr. Camilleri going to Switzerland? Because Altria Group is about to split off PMI — Philip Morris' international unit — from its domestic parent. The move, according to The Wall Street Journal, is being made to "free the tobacco giant's international operations of legal and public-relations headaches in the U.S. that have hindered its growth."
And out from under the yoke of oppressive U.S. regulations and lawsuits, there's plenty of growing to be done. Overseas, 5.2 trillion cigarettes are expected to be sucked down this year. In 2006, PMI out-earned Philip Morris USA with revenue of $48.26 billion to $18.47 billion for its domestic sibling. And without that pesky PC-health-crowd monkey on its back, PMI can start slinging some clever new smokes, like the Marlboro Intense. About a half-inch shorter than a regular Marlboro, this high-potency cigarette is designed to be fast-smoked by the tobacco addict forced outside into the cold and/or rain by indoor smoking bans. Or, how about the Marlboro Mix 9? High-nicotine, high-tar. 'Cause I guess just shooting yourself in the head doesn't kill you quick enough. And if you still don't think smoking is suicide, the WHO predicts 10 million people a year will die of smoking-related illness by 2020, making it the single leading cause of death worldwide.
Now, clearly, the U.S. can't truly stop Camilleri from leaving the country, or PMI from setting up shop in Fencesit-zerland. Smoking tobacco is, after all, legal. But if a guy who makes bank selling cancer is free to travel, comparatively the government shouldn't have been dithering over Winehouse's entry 'cause she might guzzle a little Cristal and trash a hotel room.
Unless, of course, she kills 10 million people in the process.
6:46 PM ET | 02- 8-2008 | permalink
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