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Category: News Author : Duncan Riley Posted: June 6, 2009
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Health Insurance Companies have $4.4 Billion Invested in Tobacco Production


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This doesn’t come as much of a shock really, but health insurance companies in Britain, Canada and the U.S. have invested at least $4.4 billion in tobacco companies.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has confirmed that at least $4.4 billion in health insurance company funds are invested in companies whose subsidiaries produce tobacco in the form of cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco.

According to the study, US insurer Prudential Financial has $US264.3 million dollars invested among three US tobacco companies, including Reynolds America and Philip Morris.

Canadian insurer Sun Life Financial, which sells life, disability and health insurance, has a stock portfolio with more than one billion dollars in two tobacco companies, including $US890 million in Philip Morris.

Tobacco is the leading cause of lung cancer as well as a major risk factor for heart attack, stroke, pulmonary disease and other types of cancer. According to the World Health Organisation, it is a contributing factor in 5.4 million deaths a year.

So, all you non-smokers out there, how do you feel about your health insurance premiums being invested in companies that produce products that are slowly killing you?

[Source: News.com.au]










Comments


5 Archived Responses to “ Health Insurance Companies have $4.4 Billion Invested in Tobacco Production ”

  1. smoker
    Jun 7, 2009

    why are they doing this ?

  2. C
    Jun 8, 2009

    I think this article is very misleading and caters to sensationalism. First of all, the article did not reference the specific NEJM study that made this claim. Additionally, financial giants such as Met Life, Travelers, Prudential, and Sun Life Financial routinely acquire any types of profitable businesses, which can include industries that serve contradictory purposes. This article stated that it is the actual health insurance companies, not their parent companies, that invest fund into the tobacco industry. Yet only 2 parent giants were mentioned here: Prudential & Sun Life. A subsidiary has no part in the decision making with its parent company's allocation of funds and investments. The health care industry is very complex and change hands all the time. Aetna is owned by ING, Cigna by Prudential, Oxford by UnitedHealth Group, BlueCross & BlueShields is a franchisees, etc. I find this article simplistic, manipulative, lacks factual referencing, and deprived of journalist professionalism.

  3. health insurance quotes
    Jul 9, 2009

    Great post..


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