New Tax for Smokers
March 29, 2009 by Cherie Burbach
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
If you didn’t already have enough incentive to quit smoking (what with the increased risk of heart attack and lung cancer and all), the new tobacco tax (which takes effect on Wednesday) may just give you the extra motivation you need. Per pack tax goes from 39 cents to $1.01.
Some smokers feel this is a good thing. After all, smoking is a tough addiction to break and if something like raising the tax on smokes can motivate you (in this economy) to put the cigarettes down, that’s a positive thing, right?
On the other hand, some smokers feel that the tax is unfairly targeting them.
What do you believe? If you’re currently a smoker, will you give it up once the new tax goes into effect?
Image: sxc.hu.
Nope, I won’t quit and I think it’s unfair. Sure, legalize drugs and penalize tobacco smokers. The world is going to pot. *no pun intended, lol*
Enough already! Seriously, doesn’t anyone out there see that there are more health problems associated with alcohol abuse than with smokers? Not to mention the pain and suffering caused by drunk drivers, drunken brawls and just plain stupidity. It’s time for us to realize where the bigger problems are and get that extra revenue by increasing taxes on alcohol.
And I say it’s for us to decide, not the government.
Yes, I understand fully that cigarettes and nicotine are bad for one’s health. And yes, I think I would like to quit -sometimes -but mostly, I think I’d be happy just to cut down on my intake.
I understand too the government feels they are doing this for two reasons -raise more revenue via increased taxes and safe my sorry ass from smoking myself to death.
There are so many addictive things around besides nicotine -well as someone else mentioned, alcohol, for openers.
But ya know, food is also addictive too in some ways. Okay, you have to have food to live but…does everyone need as much food as they ingest every day? There are so many people who are obese and almost all these cases are caused by two things -overeating and lack of exercise. Am I right?
How long will it be before the government -in its infinite wisdom -will begin to tax cookies, cake, pies, other desserts -because after all, are they really necessary parts of the nutrition chain? Certainly not and they make people fat. Then will most likely come snacks like potato chips, pretzels, dips. And after that, other foods too -like pastas -or fried foods -too many fats, too much sugar. Too much this or that.
Absurd logic you say? And I ask you, is it really? How long before the government or so other groups band together and start a process that leads to something as outrageous as what I said above?
For crying out loud, leave people alone! If I want to make an unwise choice -unless it is totally illegal like robbing someone or maiming or killing -let me make the decisions myself.
I’m tired of people coming out of the woodwork and trying to take the last vestige I have that I do enjoy -having a smoke, or several of them. Now, here where I live, they are also trying to make it illegal for people who do continue to smoke to NOT be allowed to smoke in their cars or in their own homes too. Kind of pushing this crap a bit over the edge.
But in light of the paragraph directly above, now do you think it is all that illogical and outrageous that perhaps someday in the future, foods will become a target too for extra taxation if they are high in fat, high in sugar, high in calories, etc.
Heaven forbid there is anything left that people can have as their own private little salve and salvation.
Go tax someone else for a change. Oh yeah, we already do that and food is gonna be the last bastion left so look out, now that I just put that up there, watch some clown pick up the baton for that and run with it I suppose!
When are people going to wake up smoking is bad for your health. and second hand smoke is worse. And so if the smokers are going to care about the people around them then the lawmakers have to do something to protect us. Why do non-smokers have to suffer because smokers decide to kill themselves. Get a grip and stop the madness.