Beer, wine, liquer????

Question

WHY NOT put a tax on alcohol instead of cigarrettes??
More people drink than there are smokers........
and more peoples' lives are ruined by the alcohol than by smoking!

Alcohol is taxed, but not as much as cigarrettes...

More peoples' lives are destroyed when a drunk driver is a DRUNK DRIVER than a person who puffs a cigarrette. You can leave the room when there's a cigarrette, but you CANNOT avoid a drunk driver when you Donot know he's there.......

again, You can AVOID CIGARRETTE SMOKE. You CANNOT avoid a drunk driver.......

Answer 1

Alcohol is heavily taxed as well, much more so that tobacco in many locations! A $20 bottle of 100 proof bourbon would cost $5 or $6 in many parts of the US without the taxes. Historically alcohol has generated MUCH more revenue than tobacco.

And I'd argue your claim that alcohol ruins more lives than the Demon Weed. About 30,000 people die on US roads and highways due to alcohol while a couple million die from smoking related disease.

Alcohol is only addictive to a small subset of the population whereas nicotine is virtually 100% addictive. It is probably the most difficult addiction to break as well. I've known crack heads and scag freaks that broke those addictions but never could give up cigarettes.

Addendum: I'll argue your point on drunk drivers. I commute 150 miles every day and dodge 3 or 4 of them. If you are situationally aware you'd be surprised how many bullets you can dodge! Tobacco still claims many times more people than drunk drivers. 2 million vs 30,000. Do the math. The loss to the families is a wash, as you're dead either way.

Answer 2

1) Cigarettes are the only product that, if used as intended by the manufacturer, will kill you. You can't say the same thing about alcohol. Because of this, taxing cigarettes doesn't have a political downside.

2) Smokers are now dwindling number of people. With the loss of numbers, comes the loss of power. No one is going to get voted out of power for supporting a cigarette tax.

3) Drinkers are spread across the socioeconomic spectrum from rich to poor. Smokers, in general, are poor. Poor people have much less influence on the policies in the Congress.

Answer 3

cigarettes cause health problems for people that DON'T smoke due to second hand smoke, so the smokers SHOULD pay for that - how do you figure more lives are ruined by alc vs cigs? it's easier and cheaper to get cigs than alcohol

Answer 4

Alcohol is taxed too