Health and life insurance companies in the United States and elsewhere have nearly $45. Billion invested in tobacco stocks, according to Harvard doctors.
The largest tobacco investor appears to be the Prudential company, with branches in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has more than $1.5 Billion invested in tobacco stocks. Several others on the list apparently have over $1 Billion in Phillip Morris and other cigarette stocks. Indeed, six other major companies that sell life, health, disability, or long-term care insurance, have major holdings in tobacco stock.
So what? Well, if you own a Billion Dollars of tobacco stock, you do not want to see it go down. You are less likely to endorse anti-tobacco legislation and other actions the health insurance industry would want to do if insurance companies really cared about consumers.
With $4.5 Billion Dollars invested in Big Tobacco, many insurers are getting money from a cancer-causing industry. At present, this is who is running our health-care system.