In 1994, the CEOs of the seven largest American tobacco companies testified before Congress and stated under oath that nicotine was not addictive.

Today, we know they lied to us because it was in their financial interests. They conducted a classic gaslight. Gaslighting is a form of deceit used by habitual or pathological liars. They will often lie to your face and never back down even when confronted with proof of their deception.

The Congressional hearings were held by Chairman Henry Waxman in 1994 on television in full public view. Tobacco executives were called upon to answer publicly for the poisoning and killing of millions of Americans with cigarettes.

tobaccofreekids.org

When Representative Ron Wyden questioned James Johnston, the Chairman, and CEO of R.J. Reynolds, in 1994, he got the answer that flew in the face of known science and reality: 

"Cigarettes and nicotine clearly do not meet the classic definitions of addiction..."

However, the world would see through this gaslight. R.J. Reynolds would be one of the tobacco companies called upon to pay damages in a $206 billion Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

Nonetheless, despite this, R.J. Reynolds has continued to profit and only grow larger. It purchased Lorillard Tobacco for $27 billion in 2014 and paid $49 billion to merge with British America Tobacco in 2017.

Americans know that cigarettes cause cancer, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, and COPD. In addition, they cause seven out of every ten cases of lung cancer. And cigarette smoking is highly addictive.

But currently, we are witnessing an even greater gaslight than from the cigarette executives. We see in 2021 gaslighting about vaccines, Ivermectin, and public health. We are lied to daily by corporate interests who seek to protect a much greater industry than tobacco.