You may be accidentally investing in cigarette companies | Bronwyn King

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 September 2019

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tobacco causes more than seven million deaths every year -- and many of us are far more complicit in the problem than we realize. In a bold talk, oncologist Dr. Bronwyn King tells the story of how she uncovered the deep ties between the tobacco industry and the entire global finance sector, which invests our money in cigarette companies through big banks, insurers and pension funds. Learn how Dr. King has ignited a worldwide movement to create tobacco-free investments and how each of us can play a role in ending this epidemic.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to a special archive presentation of TED Talks daily.
0:05.6	This TED Talk features radiation oncologist Bronwyn King, recorded live at TEDx-Sidney 2017.
0:15.1	In 2001, I was a brand new shiny doctor planning to save the world.
0:21.6	My first job was working for three months on a lung cancer unit.
0:26.5	Nearly all of my patients were smokers or ex-smokers,
0:29.6	and most of them had started smoking when they were children or in their early teens.
0:35.5	And despite living in a beautiful, wealthy country
0:38.6	with access to the most sophisticated medicines,
0:43.0	nearly every single one of my patients died.
0:46.5	Everyone knows tobacco is bad,
0:48.4	but when you see the impact firsthand day by day,
0:51.5	it leaves a very deep impression.
0:57.2	Ten years later, I'm a radiation oncologist, fully aware of the suffering caused by tobacco. I'm sitting at the hospital cafeteria
1:03.9	having my first ever meeting with a representative from my superannuation fund. It was thrilling,
1:10.0	I'm sure you can imagine. He tells me I'm in
1:14.1	the default option, and I said, oh, option does that mean there are other options? He looked at me,
1:19.6	rolled his eyes, and said, well, there is this one greeny option for people who have a problem
1:26.7	with investing in mining, alcohol or tobacco.
1:31.4	I said, did you just say tobacco? He said, yes.
1:34.8	I said, so are you telling me I'm currently investing in tobacco?
1:38.2	And he said, oh yes, everyone is.
1:42.4	When you invest in a company, you own part of that company.
	...

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