Can’t Escape Conspiracy Theories

Wael Hmaidan, Executive Director of IndyACT told The Daily Star:

The parliamentary committee has been taking a lot of time to finalize a draft law on tobacco control because representatives of British American Tobacco Company have recently attended the committee’s meetings

He has to make it about dark foreign corporate forces pulling strings in the background, when the reason is just politics as usual: The powerful owners of Lebanese restaurants and entertainment industries are lobbying very hard against the proposed bill, using the argument that scares all lawmakers: If the bill passes, we’ll have to layoff many of our workers.

If the anti-smoking lobby doesn’t provide an adequate counter weight, the lawmakers will keep on dragging their feet.