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  Cadillac ATS Vs. The Wind

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It’s a classic David and Goliath story. Uruguay’s President José Mujica called his tiny country a “laboratory of confrontation” with Big Tobacco Monday at the opening of an anti-smoking summit sponsored by the World Health Organization.

We’re looking at coverage and perspectives from KMEX, the New American, the New York Times, and Seeking Alpha.

During the conference, the 170 participating countries hope to create guidelines for a broad anti-smoking treaty. They were discussing ways to control the consumption of cigarettes and limit additives. KMEX has more.

“Among other points to be discussed is the recommendation to require the industry to disclose information about the making of cigarettes also reducing the tobacco crops and illicit cigarette trades.”

But it’s not the conference that lit tobacco giant Philip Morris’ fuse. The company alleges Uruguay violated its trade agreement with Switzerland by requiring anti-smoking warnings to cover 80 percent of cigarette packages -- an issue that could lead to a lengthy legal battle.

A spokesperson for the company explains their case against the South American country in the New American.

“The packages definitely need health warnings, but they’ve got to be a reasonable size. We thought 50 percent was reasonable. Once you take it up to 80 percent, there’s no space for trademarks to be shown. We thought that was going too far.”

Uruguay’s fight caught the attention of an American politician known for his anti-smoking views -- New York’s Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg pledged a donation to Uruguay’s defense fund, saying his money...

“...will assist Uruguayan government officials by providing legal research and expertise, launching public education mass media campaigns, and galvanizing world support and public opinion.”

The World Health Organization calls Morris’ suit -- and other efforts like it -- an attempt to intimidate low to middle income nations. But why is Big Tobacco suddenly picking on the little guys? An article on the website Seeking Alpha explains.

“Tobacco makers are aggressively marketing in those markets in order to compensate for the declining sales in rich countries... As income levels and standard of living increases in [emerging market] countries, sales of tobacco products may increase further. In some ways a bet on tobacco stocks can be considered as a bet on emerging markets.”

The New York Times reports Philip Morris International’s annual revenue totals $66 billion -- twice the size of Uruguay’s gross domestic product.