Should Taxes be Placed on Cigarettes?

[SmithSmith]

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it accounts for about 443,000 deaths each year, or about 20 percent of all deaths. A lifetime smoker will die about seven years before a non-smoker with similar characteristics, such as education level, income, and sex. High taxes will discourage people from buying these dangerous health hazards.

[lnrw]

how many people will be discouraged by high taxes?

this idea creates black markets.

so the extra taxes will likely be gobbled up in enforcement and there will be about the same number of smokers. likely it will create a new, over priced, ineffectual beaureacratic black hole and cost more than projected and do less than intended.

in all likelihood, there will be more eric garner type incidents and others of hopefully less devastation, but not necessarily.

so what will be the net benefit?

it sounds like another dogooder bleeding heart liberal shitty idea.

[The Comrade]

i'd rather they either get rid of the draconian taxes or just ban tobacco sales. cigs aren't interesting enough to create a large black market for very long and the taxes just harm the poor.

[lnrw]

[The Comrade]

because cigs aren't an interesting intoxicant like i just said and they have the added benefit of losing what little buzz they carry by the time you're addicted enough to be a regular smoker.

[The Comrade]

like, you're aware there are tons of things banned in the US more interesting than cigs that have an almost non-existent black market because its not worth the trouble, right?

[lnrw]

[lnrw]

[lnrw]

[Saz]

You're all fascists.