Common sense goes up in smoke
By CARL HIAASEN
It's been a tough year for smokers, and now Florida lawmakers are considering a $1-a-pack tax on top of the new federal excise hike of 62 cents.
Supporters say the measure would raise $870 million to partially offset the $1.25 billion that it costs Florida taxpayers annually to subsidize extended healthcare for tobacco-related illnesses.
Just as significantly, a cigarette ''user fee'' would reduce the number of people smoking in Florida -- as it has in other states that passed similar taxes -- by making the habit too expensive.
That's what worries Ellyn Bogdanoff, She strongly opposes a cigarette tax because fewer smokers would be bad for business.
The woman is dead serious, folks.
In particular, Bogdanoff worries about the impact that a cigarette tax would have on convenience stores
''Twenty-two percent of all sales in convenience stores are cigarettes,''
The citizens of Broward County should feel proud to have a representative who bravely stands up for capitalism at all costs and says to hell with the public's health.
True, cigarettes cause lung cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer, emphysema, heart disease and strokes. And sure, they're highly addictive. Listen to Rep. Bogdanoff when she says that Florida's convenience stores really, really need your money.
There's much evidence that higher cigarette taxes discourage people from starting to smoke, and also cause hard-core smokers to stop cold turkey.
In New York City, where a pack of butts now costs between $9 and $10, health officials say there are 300,000 fewer adult smokers today than there were in 2002. Cigarette use among public high-school students dropped 52 percent during roughly the same period.
it's bad for the retail outlets where they once bought their ciggies. In this troubled economy, we need every tobacco addict to stay addicted.
The Petroleum Marketers Association, The lobby group says it opposes the $1-a-pack tax because smokers will get around the high price by purchasing cheaper cigarettes in other states, or from Internet sites run by Indian tribes, which are not subject to the tax.
Democrats in the Legislature have tried before to raise the cigarette tax, only to be thwarted by the powerful tobacco lobby. But now, in a shocking shift of allegiances, some top GOP lawmakers say the time has come.
Last week, a Senate committee unanimously voted in favor of hiking the state tax from 34 cents to $1.34 per pack, and $1 per ounce on cigars and smokeless tobacco products.
Bogdanoff's counterpart on the Senate Finance and Tax Committee, Republican Thad Altman of Melbourne, says the revenue is necessary to help bring down the high cost of funding Medicaid, which has been bloated with tobacco-related hospital car
But what would happen to your local 7-Eleven .
In the meantime, be a patriotic consumer. If you don't smoke, give it a try. If you do smoke, smoke more.
And don't forget to load up on the chips and Coke.
By CARL HIAASEN
It's been a tough year for smokers, and now Florida lawmakers are considering a $1-a-pack tax on top of the new federal excise hike of 62 cents.
Supporters say the measure would raise $870 million to partially offset the $1.25 billion that it costs Florida taxpayers annually to subsidize extended healthcare for tobacco-related illnesses.
Just as significantly, a cigarette ''user fee'' would reduce the number of people smoking in Florida -- as it has in other states that passed similar taxes -- by making the habit too expensive.
That's what worries Ellyn Bogdanoff, She strongly opposes a cigarette tax because fewer smokers would be bad for business.
The woman is dead serious, folks.
In particular, Bogdanoff worries about the impact that a cigarette tax would have on convenience stores
''Twenty-two percent of all sales in convenience stores are cigarettes,''
The citizens of Broward County should feel proud to have a representative who bravely stands up for capitalism at all costs and says to hell with the public's health.
True, cigarettes cause lung cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer, emphysema, heart disease and strokes. And sure, they're highly addictive. Listen to Rep. Bogdanoff when she says that Florida's convenience stores really, really need your money.
There's much evidence that higher cigarette taxes discourage people from starting to smoke, and also cause hard-core smokers to stop cold turkey.
In New York City, where a pack of butts now costs between $9 and $10, health officials say there are 300,000 fewer adult smokers today than there were in 2002. Cigarette use among public high-school students dropped 52 percent during roughly the same period.
it's bad for the retail outlets where they once bought their ciggies. In this troubled economy, we need every tobacco addict to stay addicted.
The Petroleum Marketers Association, The lobby group says it opposes the $1-a-pack tax because smokers will get around the high price by purchasing cheaper cigarettes in other states, or from Internet sites run by Indian tribes, which are not subject to the tax.
Democrats in the Legislature have tried before to raise the cigarette tax, only to be thwarted by the powerful tobacco lobby. But now, in a shocking shift of allegiances, some top GOP lawmakers say the time has come.
Last week, a Senate committee unanimously voted in favor of hiking the state tax from 34 cents to $1.34 per pack, and $1 per ounce on cigars and smokeless tobacco products.
Bogdanoff's counterpart on the Senate Finance and Tax Committee, Republican Thad Altman of Melbourne, says the revenue is necessary to help bring down the high cost of funding Medicaid, which has been bloated with tobacco-related hospital car
But what would happen to your local 7-Eleven .
In the meantime, be a patriotic consumer. If you don't smoke, give it a try. If you do smoke, smoke more.
And don't forget to load up on the chips and Coke.
Last edited by rosencrentz on Sun Apr 05, 2009 6:07 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : mispelled thier)
