I don't want to open a can of worms, but I do have a few things to say about cigarette taxes. Did you know that cigarette taxes are actually a tax on the poor and working class? These are the people with the least clout to fight back. Why not tax Big Macs or donuts?
One reason local residents have such poor health is that most adults don't exercise. When I started weight training when I was 13 years old, almost 100 percent of the adults I knew told me that it would either make me homosexual, mentally retarded or both. When I started bicycling, I faced pretty much the same ridicule, even though a few people felt sorry for me, thinking I was mentally handicapped. It is a proven fact that people who exercise regularly are less likely to smoke, so maybe encouraging exercise and promoting organizations such as the Senior Olympics would be more effective.
The other point about increased cigarette taxes is that it puts the state, that is supposedly against smoking, in partnership with the cigarette manufacturers, much like the gambling industry. Tobacco is very strange since it is a legal crop involving the government giving billions of dollars in subsidies to farmers over the years. When the $246 billion settlement was reached between cigarette makers and states in 1998, 50 percent of the money went to tobacco farmers and only 10 percent went to smoking cessation programs.
I wonder how cigarette tax money is distributed. I also wonder where the money will go if there is an increase in cigarette taxes.
One reason local residents have such poor health is that most adults don't exercise. When I started weight training when I was 13 years old, almost 100 percent of the adults I knew told me that it would either make me homosexual, mentally retarded or both. When I started bicycling, I faced pretty much the same ridicule, even though a few people felt sorry for me, thinking I was mentally handicapped. It is a proven fact that people who exercise regularly are less likely to smoke, so maybe encouraging exercise and promoting organizations such as the Senior Olympics would be more effective.
The other point about increased cigarette taxes is that it puts the state, that is supposedly against smoking, in partnership with the cigarette manufacturers, much like the gambling industry. Tobacco is very strange since it is a legal crop involving the government giving billions of dollars in subsidies to farmers over the years. When the $246 billion settlement was reached between cigarette makers and states in 1998, 50 percent of the money went to tobacco farmers and only 10 percent went to smoking cessation programs.
I wonder how cigarette tax money is distributed. I also wonder where the money will go if there is an increase in cigarette taxes.
Cigarette Tax Controversy
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