Taxes on cigarettes have skyrocketed over the past few years. I'm a smoker and I pay signigficantly - as I feel I should - BUT - why can't those funds be used to provide cease smoking tools (patches, acupuncture, etc) to smokers who would be willing to try the tools if they weren't so expensive. Isn't the objective of taxing cigarettes to get people to stop smoking????
2006-11-08 15:31:03 · 9 answers · asked by Kingfisher1098 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
The objective of taxing cigarettes is to penalize smokers while adding to State and Federal coffers, not to get the smokers to stop. The very last thing these governments and the anti-smoking crowd wants is for you to quit smoking. The revenues from cigarette taxes would have to be replaced by taxing some other minority, and the anti-smokers would have to seek out new victims.
2006-11-08 16:06:08 · answer #1 · answered by Helmut 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't like it, don't hang out around people that smoke. Just like it is your right not to have to smell the smoke, it is a smoker's right to smoke if they want to. My son, my husband, and myself all have food and clothing, and we do not buy cigarettes if there is something else that needs to be bought first. I am not stinky or filthy. I do not litter, and I only smoke in approved areas when I am in a public place. I am courteous enough to ask the people around me if they mind if i smoke. If they don't mind, I happily go somewhere else. And just to let you know, even if they raised them to 100 dollars a pack... I would probably still smoke, just not as often. You on the other hand are probably one of those people who would just sit there and fake cough and make ugly comments instead of politely asking a smoker to move somewhere else, or just moving a few feet away yourself. I can guarantee that a smoker has never come up to you and made an ugly comment to you for being a non-smoker... why don't you have the same courtesy, and worry about your own life and health rather than ragging on the smokers?
2016-03-19 05:37:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You're willing to spend $5 for a pack of cigarettes, and say you want to stop smoking, but you can't afford to drop $20 on a box of nicotine gum? That doesn't sound like a person who truly wants to quit.
The government does use some of the money to prevent and stop smoking through education and awareness. Just because they're not doling out free products it doesn't mean they are not trying to fix the problem.
Smoking is a personal choice, and ultimately, it is up the smoker to quit. I don't think it is the place of the government to give you patches, gum, etc. If you were starving and need food, by all means, someone should help feed you, but to stop smoking, you should be doing that on your own. There are many support programs available through the government and tobacco companies, you just need to take advantage of them.
2006-11-08 15:41:15 · answer #3 · answered by Sativa 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
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2016-05-17 12:29:23 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-01-30 20:47:13 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Better yet, considering the argument for the illegal raising of cigarette taxes in the past has been offsetting higher health associated costs due to smoking, how can we not illegally tax fattening food. More people die every year from obesity related health issues than smoking related health issues. There is no hard scientific evidence that second hand smoke is dangerous. NONE. Check it out for yourself.
2006-11-09 14:11:54 · answer #6 · answered by kj 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the campaign against smoking is a political smokescreen. While some wish to reduce smoking in this country, the government seized upon this as another method to extract money from the population. They obviously don't expect to eliminate smoking, but view it as another revenue stream. If the money went toward reducing smoking, they would lose it and it would diminish over time. They can't have that.
2006-11-08 15:36:29 · answer #7 · answered by Deirdre H 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Actually in some states the objective is to help pay the medical expenses for those who refuse to quit smoking. I mean alot of smokers are stubborn with it comes to quitting. My grandfather refused to quit even though he couldn't walk five feet without coughing and needing to use his inhaler.
2006-11-08 15:42:28 · answer #8 · answered by talent74706 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are places where you can go to get free help... clinics, and companies.... in Maine if you're on Medi Care they provide patches and gum for free.
2006-11-08 15:40:29 · answer #9 · answered by Steph 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
IT IS ALL A CONSPIRACY. I THINK THERE SHOULD BE NO TAXES ON ANY AGRICULTURE PRODUCT. AND NO I DO NOT THINK ANY REFORMED SMOKER SHOULD GET HELP TO PAY FOR TREATMENT. THEY DID NOT NEED HELP TO BUY CIGARETTES TO BEGIN WITH.
2006-11-11 23:09:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋