The Altria Group (NYSE: MO), formerly known as Philip Morris, the world's biggest tobacco purveyor is known for withstanding even the deepest of recessions. Yet, the stock has suddenly lost all support.

The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. has or will slip into a "mild" recession. In such economic times, the conventional wisdom calls for consumer staple companies, such as Philip Morris and Procter & Gamble to hold up better than growth stocks, such as Google.

But, something else may be going on, as Philip Morris, the ultimate survivor of bear markets took a big dip below its 200 day moving average on 4-9. It's a simple concept. People will buy booze and smokes during any time. And hard times lead them to often buy more of the stuff that fuels their vices.

So, what gives? Well for one thing, Altria and Philip Morris are two separate companies now. Philip Morris International (NYS: PM) was spun off from Altria on March 31st. And although PM, which is now based in Switzerland, and focuses on international business, is a separate company, its shares are also starting to dip.

Which brings us back to the initial question. What gives? If you look at other vice stocks, such as Anheuser Busch (NYSE: BUD), it's also having problems.

We're not sure what this means. It's hard to believe that people are giving up their cigarrettes and beer. The other alternative is that long term investors, the kind that tend to buy BUD and MO shares, are having a change of heart, about (GULP!), the long term of the markets, and perhaps the economy.

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Doctor Joe Duarte's Market I.Q., offers subscribers a unique blend of intelligence, market commentary and trading strategy. Duarte's daily articles, and news summaries offer recommendations and analysis for ETFs, and individual stocks in the technology, health and biotechnology, and energy sectors. Doctor Duarte is a writer, and an emerging futurist, with a diverse background, and a growing audience. His combined expertise in health care, energy, and the effects of politics and global intelligence on the financial markets offer a unique blend of insight and information to thousands of active investors and political and intelligence aficionados around the world on a daily basis.

He is the author of four books: "Futures And Options For Dummies," "Successful Energy Sector Investing," "Successful Biotech Investing" and co-author of "After-Hours Trading Made Easy."

In early 2001 Dr. Duarte in "Successful Energy Sector Investing," correctly predicted that Venezuela's political problems could lead to an energy crisis in the United States.

In 2003, also Dr. Duarte was among the first to widely publicize the long-term friendship between French President Jacques Chirac and Saddam Hussein.

He has also appeared as a weekly guest on Market Mavens Radio, has logged appearances on KNX radio in Los Angeles, Financial Sense.com radio, and Wall Street Radio.

One of CNBC's original Market Mavens, Dr. Duarte has been writing about the financial markets since 1990.

His articles and commentary have been featured on CBS Marketwatch, Barron's, Smart Money, Medical Economics, and in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities magazines.

In 2003, Doctor Duarte received second place, in the professional section, of the Medical Economics Investment Challenge with a 12-month return of 42%.