Sunday, July 5, 2009

The State gives a Whack to the price of a Pack

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If you assume that intelligent people do NOT smoke because they know they are playing suicide by doing so, then it is only the unintelligent who are taking this death risk. Yeah, that would have made me fighting mad when I was a smoker...but even little six year olds will tell you that you are not too smart if you smoke.

Ever since the 1980’s when the Surgeon general said cigarettes and tobacco related products could hasten one's death and he put a warning on every package, hundreds of thousands of us have not listened and have been defiant ever since. Should society be that concerned about protecting these smokers by making cigarettes cost prohibitive? Yes it should and here is why--

Tobacco related deaths have been estimated to cost the American taxpayer over $150 billion annually in medical costs and lost wages. The tax hike will raise an estimated $886 million for Medicaid in Florida in 2209/2010 alone. Florida says that 29,000 people in our State die every year from smoke related diseases. The State will take the tax made off of the people who are addicted to the habit of smoking and help defray the tremendous medical costs associated with this deadly pursuit.

The law, that has raised the price of cigarettes to over $1.62 a pack in the last three months, allows the state of Florida to collect $2.35 on each pack. One smoker said that if the prices got ridiculous she might stop smoking. She's "stupidly lucky" that she doesn't live in New York. A pack of cigarettes there is over $10!! I think the price is already over and above "ridiculous." I remember when a pack of cigarettes was 25 cents.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

And how much does it cost tax payers for the cost of medical treatment of the obese? Cost tax payers for illegal children, for the Littering people that trash our highways, for the cost of all the criminals in prison? For all the illegals we support? For all the wasted spending by our government. I as a smoker and tax payer feel we are getting the royal shaft. All of the above out number us by 50 to 1. Go after them for the money. Not the smokers.

Lynn Anderson said...

People are free to kill themselves anyway they choose but it is still considered a crime in many states to kill yourself. Over-indulging in anything is not too smart. At least we have fines for those who commit crimes against people other than themselves--litterbugs, people who don't wear their seat belts, and we do throw criminals in prison. You are free to smoke and shorten your life but you will just pay more to do so.

Anonymous said...

IMO, just about everything shortens your life. Its in your Genes. Stress shortens your life too. I`m just saying smoking has been taxed enough. Smokers are a minority anymore. Tax the majority and make it more of a even playing field or tax the rich more. They have the money and know how to work the system.

Anonymous said...

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday,
lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Anonymous said...

No one is in a hospital dying of nothing, not these days. I say if someone wants to smoke himself to death, let him and allow insurance providers to not cover him.

Anonymous said...

If smokers aren`t covered by insurance providers, then neither should the obese, the construction trades people or the factory workers that work hazardous jobs or the people that abuse their bodies in some way.

Anonymous said...

When I filled out an application for health insurance it asked me if I smoked. Probably the premium went up.

Anonymous said...

Didnt they ask you if you were obese, that you took drugs, did you take any test to see if you had any genetic caused problems? What about the type of job you hold. Do you sit in a chair all day without getting execise? what about the food you eat. A healthy diet? I live in the country and have worked hard all my life. I`m 66 and have smoked 2 packs a day for 50 years and I bet my lungs are healthier then yours because I do work hard and have a good diet. So I should be looked down on and charged more? Bull. Everybody that has insurance should be tested before getting it and tested yearly. Just because I smoke, don`t cut me out. There are many more out there that do worse to their bodies then I. Make it an even playing field as I said before.

Anonymous said...

Smoking is disgusting? Not to me. What is disgusting is the people that dont obey the laws we have.The people that think they are better then others. the people that take advantage of others, The politicians that dont do the job they were voted in to do. The amount of illegals that have invaded our country and the ones that hire them under the table. The hand outs to the lazy that are perfectly able to work. The drug situation and gangs in this country. It goes on and on. What has caused all of this? Dont keep taxing me because I`m a law abiding citizen. Make the crooks pay the tax