PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama Tax Pledge Up In Smoke

[Purveyor]

(04-01) 08:42 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

One of President Barack Obama's campaign pledges on taxes went up in puffs of smoke Wednesday.

The largest increase in tobacco taxes took effect despite Obama's promise not to raise taxes of any kind on families earning under $250,000 or individuals under $200,000.

This is one tax that disproportionately affects the poor, who are more likely to smoke than the rich.

To be sure, Obama's tax promises in last year's campaign were most often made in the context of income taxes. Not always.

"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

MORE...

AP: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/01/national/w084227D78.DTL

[polichick]

1. Good, maybe a few more people will quit...

My dad quit cold turkey when the price of a pack went up a nickle back in the 60s.

[DJ13]

7. They probably will

So what vice do YOU have that we can tax next to make up for the shortfall in revenues?

Dont be shy, do it for the children.

[Teaser]

8. You can tax my monkeysex all you want.

tax it out of existence!

[DJ13]

10. So we should tax vegetable oil?

[Teaser]

11. yes.

.

[davidpdx]

217. monkeysex?

Hmm...I don't want to know LOL

[polichick]

12. Truthfully, I would gladly pay an additional gas tax of about two dollars...

...if it would go toward green energy research and development.

So there! :P

[DJ13]

13. Thats not a personal vice

How about chocolate, or tea, or something else you could live without, but choose not to?

[polichick]

18. Well those aren't very bad for a person, but I'd have no problem...

...paying extra on coffee, which is a daily "vice" for me.

The thing that makes smoking different is that we all pay the price for that particular vice, in health care costs and second hand smoke. We also all pay for the vice of alcohol, in a number of ways.

[Leftist Agitator]

77. You do know that it costs less to care for a smoker over their lifetime than it does a nonsmoker...

You do know that it costs less to care for a smoker over their lifetime than it does a nonsmoker, right? For all the much ballyhooed "cost to society of smoking", the fact remains that smokers die 15 years sooner, on average, than non-smokers. And guess at which stage of life the majority of lifetime health care costs accrue? The last 15 years, especially from 70-85 years of age.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Ask the New England Journal of Medicine:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/337/15/1052

"Health care costs for smokers at a given age are as much as 40 percent higher than those for nonsmokers, but in a population in which no one smoked the costs would be 7 percent higher among men and 4 percent higher among women than the costs in the current mixed population of smokers and nonsmokers. If all smokers quit, health care costs would be lower at first, but after 15 years they would become higher than at present."

Now then, the next time you're going to pontificate as if you know what the fuck you're talking about, make sure that you can't be made to look like a fool with 5 seconds with the Google. Either that, or quit talking out of your ass.

[polichick]

80. LOL - that early death thing is a real money saver! Maybe you should...

...yank your smoke-filled head out of your ass!

[redqueen]

83. ...

:spray:

[RaleighNCDUer]

66. I'd be thrilled if they would legalize, then tax the shit out of, marijuana. nt

[flaminbats]

73. good point..

if we don't pay more in taxes, our children probably will!

wow..you're sounding a little like JFK. "And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"

[laugle]

81. Yeah, what's

next; taxing fat people by the pound. No wait; let's tax all the beer drinkers, that would pay for all the people who don't have health care. I guess the beer lobby is to big!

Be careful people, there's already talk of taxing junk food. I'm glad I don't eat it!

Let he who is without VICE cast the first stone!

[flaminbats]

114. sorry..I don't need tobacco to survive

I do support a national sales tax, but not in place of the income tax. If we had a national surplus, love without hate, and a world without greed or disease..maybe we wouldn't need government, taxes, or laws. :hippie:

[polichick]

117. Taxing junk food isn't a bad idea...

...especially if the money went to low income families so they could buy more healthy food (which is more expensive).

[joshcryer]

143. The problem with this, like all regressive taxes, is it hurts the lower class more than anyone else.

You're basically rasing their food costs to ... pay for their food costs?

You're raising their "get through the day" costs (smoking) to ... pay for their health care?

[polichick]

147. Well, I would sure trade junk food for high-quality food and smokes for health care.

[joshcryer]

157. Too bad not one smoker is going to be helped by it.

A guy in the UK wants Obama to tax sugar (including HFCS). That would go over well.

[flaminbats]

148. health care is a get through the day cost..

smoking is not. Republicans support the sales tax in place of the income tax..because they don't want universal health care, public education, or a debt-free society. I support putting every option on the table, support taking them off as our problems dissolve.

I never paid a tax that I loved, I have never been given a shot that felt good.

[joshcryer]

156. Smokers aren't even going to be helped by this program.

If you didn't realize that.

[biopowertoday]

49. you missed the point.

[polichick]

52. No I didn't - it's a tax that one can "quit."

[joshcryer]

160. It's basically luxurizing a non-luxury that mostly the lower class enjoy.

Especially if you consider the 2400% tax hike on RYO tobacco.

[polichick]

189. It's still an optional activity, and thus an optional tax...

Maybe some of the cig tax should go to provide treatment for those who need help in order to quit.

[joeglow3]

172. Some studies show nicotine is more addicting than herion...

...If this is true, how compassionate is it to take advantage of someone illness?

[polichick]

188. My dad quit cold turkey, after growing up on a tobacco farm...

...and smoking since he was a kid. I support help for those who want to quit, but don't buy the excuses.

[joeglow3]

191. Fine, but I hope you are consistent with all drugs nt.

[polichick]

192. I'd like to see them all legal, all taxed - and help available for any user...

...who wants/needs to quit. imo America's widespread addiction is a disease of the spirit ~ almost any drug can be used occasionally without problem, but too many people use them (cigs, booze, pot, prescription drugs, whatever) in a desperate way to soothe emotional angst. So, the help needs to include both physical and spiritual/emotional therapy. I think it's a crime itself to jail anyone for being an addict or for using ~ it's counterproductive and hypocritical, since only certain kinds of addicts are punished this way. I was recently excused from a jury because I told the judge that I didn't want any part in "America's war on drugs" when street drug users and prescription drug users were treated so differently. Even with a new tax cig users have a lot less to complain about than pot users, whose drug of choice remains ridiculously illegal. It's all crazy.

[RollWithIt]

104. I think, in the scheme of things, you are missing the greater point, that most people will not quit

Because they are ADDICTED. Nicotine is very much a drug. Medical professionals will tell you that Nicotine addiction is just as hard to quit as Heroine addiction to quit. The Government now has a reliable "sick poor" to tax for the healthy. While I understand where you are coming from, you lost a relative to smoking, I also understand that your relative even faced with this pricing would have continued to smoke. Essentially, we are taxing them to death.

[polichick]

105. Actually, my dad (who was raised on a tobacco farm) quit cold turkey...

...when the price of cigs went up in the 60s, so I know it can be done. He was smart; some of his tobacco-growing and smoking relatives died way too early.

Besides inspiring people to quit, this part of the op story is great: "The extra money will be used to finance a major expansion of health insurance for children. That represents a step toward achieving another promise, to make sure all kids are covered."

[RollWithIt]

120. I'm not disagreeing with the premise of the tax going to good things...

I am however disagreeing with the overall idea of it. Benefit from death. Perhaps the idea is to make it so expensive to people that they quit, but the cold reality is that these bills are written as guaranteed over time tax income. They know a large percentage can't quit so they count on the money to fund other things. If it was meant to make people quit, there wouldn't be attached guarantees on children's health insurance because the tax revenue wouldn't be there. It's a sick system.

[joshcryer]

121. That's just *NOT* true, I know *dozens of people* who are quitting over this.

Given that smoking has been on a *steady* decline over the past decade, it stands to reason that the decline will continue.

However, it presents a stupid scenario in that SCHIP taxes won't get paid if the decline continues and a lot of people in the meantime will lose a vice which helped them through the day (I expect suicides to go up along with other violence).

[RollWithIt]

153. See my reply #120

Just above.

[billyoc]

2. Remember, you don't have to pay taxes on tobacco if you order through the mail.

Fuck this regressive piece of shit tax.

[joshcryer]

124. Customs will start cracking down on mail order cigs, you just watch.

[billyoc]

130. I'll be watching, alright. The more they crack down on mail order smokes,

the more trucks will be hijacked. Those smokes are even cheaper.

[joshcryer]

133. Yep, with RYO taxes jumping 2400% the people will find other ways.

I'm told that when Canada raised their tobacco taxes a little while ago biker gangs and mobs started forming, it was "worth it" to break into a smokes store to get the cigarettes because they were so expensive.

Canada lowered the tax again thus lowering crime rates.

[slackmaster]

137. States require payment of "use tax" for things you buy out of state

Have you paid your use taxes?

[joshcryer]

141. Does anyone? Maintaining e-commerce taxes is extraoridnarily difficult.

Especially if your seller is overseas. Though again I can expect the US to inact a UK style duty tax.

[billyoc]

162. I will not pay "use taxes" and I advise everyone else to refuse to pay them.

[avaistheone1]

193. How do the states keep track?

[joshcryer]

204. It's basically voluntary, some e-commerce sites do add them in.

I believe NewEgg and Amazon are two that do it.

[slackmaster]

210. On most purchases there is no way to track it, compliance is mostly voluntary

But don't think for a moment that you can get away with buying a new car in another state and not paying the use tax on it.

[GarbagemanLB]

3. considering the burden they put on the healthcare system, I'm fine with taxing the crap out of them.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

40. Fat people put as much, if not more, of a burden on the system.

Should we tax the crap out of them? After all, most obesity is caused by "lifestyle choices".

[martymar64]

96. Damn right, tax all those lard asses

But a 200% tax on Mc Donald's and cookies and ice cream.

[joshcryer]

138. I wanna see a 2400% tax on hamburger meat.

$1 burger at McDonalds would be $24, haha.

[joshcryer]

136. Also alcoholics.

In the long run smokers actually prove less a burden to the health care system (they die earlier, come from low income families with no health insurance, etc). Grim observation, I know.

[biopowertoday]

60. Your moralistic post misses the point--that Pres. Obama broke his promise.

[mkultra]

187. i guess you finally got one on him

Now you can rail against him with more relevance.

[Leftist Agitator]

78. Sigh...

You do know that it costs less to care for a smoker over their lifetime than it does a nonsmoker, right? For all the much ballyhooed "cost to society of smoking", the fact remains that smokers die 15 years sooner, on average, than non-smokers. And guess at which stage of life the majority of lifetime health care costs accrue? The last 15 years, especially from 70-85 years of age.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Ask the New England Journal of Medicine:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/337/15/105...

"Health care costs for smokers at a given age are as much as 40 percent higher than those for nonsmokers, but in a population in which no one smoked the costs would be 7 percent higher among men and 4 percent higher among women than the costs in the current mixed population of smokers and nonsmokers. If all smokers quit, health care costs would be lower at first, but after 15 years they would become higher than at present."

Now then, the next time you're going to pontificate as if you know what the fuck you're talking about, make sure that you can't be made to look like a fool with 5 seconds with the Google. Either that, or quit talking out of your ass.

[joshcryer]

145. Yeah, it's basically a win win for the administration. However, people *will* quit due to the hike.

I expect smoking to drop at least 5% by the end of the first term. SCHIP goes underfunded. Many people lose a vice which helped them get through the day (possibly even having to get on antidepressants; a very common side effect of quitting smoking!).

[friedgreentomatoes]

212. what do you say to rounding up all HIV+ people and do something with them?

maybe... lock them up somewhere? :shrug:

I mean, the chances of getting HIV by sleeping with someone infected is still way way high than the chances of getting sick from tobacco?

[Teaser]

4. I can think of a way that the people "affected" by this can pay zero% of this tax

so can you.

grasp harder:

[azmouse]

5. Smoking killed my grandfather, father, brother...

I hope the tax doubled the price of a pack.

[davidpdx]

216. It killed my dad as well at age 55 in 2003

which was way too early to die. My mom was a lifetime smoker until about 13 years ago when she quit and she is turning 61 this year (both parents were born in the same month and year). My maternal grandmother died young of cancer (59) and my paternal grandfather died at age (69) however I believe that was of pneumonia.

[bluestateguy]

6. A lot depends on what the definition of a campaign promise is

He said no income tax increases. And furthermore, I just don't consider something to be a promise simply because someone says they are going to do something.

At any rate, I don't have much sympathy here. The bill has passed, and the time for debate is over. If you think cigarettes are too expensive, quit. That will lower your tobacco taxes to zero.

[CreekDog]

9. you don't have to pay this tax

of course, to do that, you have to avoid buying cigarettes, but there is a way.

[redqueen]

14. Does this qualify?

"Highly inflammatory or divisive attacks that echo the tone or substance of our political opponents are not welcome here."

How many dems would agree that this is an example of him breaking that promise?

[DJ13]

17. Actually I agree he broke a promise

With all the hundreds of billions being thrown about in stimulus he could have paid for the childrens health program without hurting the poor in these trying economic times by including the cost in the stimulus bill.

He didnt have to take this route.

[redqueen]

19. It seems to me you'd be in a distinct minority there.

Just MHO of course.

[DJ13]

21. What ever happened to the liberal ideal of letting people live their lives

without some nanny telling us how we should behave?

I may be in the minority, but that doesnt mean Im wrong.

[mkultra]

23. doesnt mean your right either.

It just means your alone.

[DJ13]

24. Read Obama's quote above

[mkultra]

46. i read it and understood it

I avoid distortion when possible.

[DJ13]

68. You obviously dont know the definition of the word "any"

"Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

[mkultra]

168. i don't care to equivocate to that level of minutia

its a tortured stretch for you to get where your going and it doesn't make a damn difference to me anyway. No president has ever, will ever, or is able to keep all of his campaign promises to degree your attempting to hold Obama to.

Therefore, your a troll or a fool. Pick one.

[redqueen]

25. How is raising the cigarette tax telling anyone how to behave? (nt)

[DJ13]

29. Surely you're not that naive?

Think of the notion of raising gasoline taxes by $1, $2, even $3 thats espoused here on a regular basis.

What do you think is the goal of that kind of tax?

Reduced consumption?

At that point, wouldnt you be using the tax to modify behavior?

[redqueen]

30. It's not the primary reason for the tax. Pretending it is is disingenuous. (nt)

[DJ13]

33. Neither is increasing gas taxes

Thats always propsed for some other reason, but you know better I hope.

Think of something you eat or drink regularly, now if there was an instant high tax on that item would you still buy it?

[shagsak]

43. lol ok

you're full of it. You had me until you brought up the gas tax.

That is the primary means of funding highway projects for a state. Raising it automatically improves our quality of life via roadway construction and maintenance.

The difference is you have a choice not to smoke, therefore a choice not to be involved in the tax. You don't have as easy a choice not to drive. Try again.

Truth? You're a smoker and it doesn't seem fair. I get that.

[krispos42]

140. It will drastically affect behavior in a predictable way.

It's why some anti-gun people want there to be a "sin tax" on ammunition.

[redqueen]

174. That still doesn't mean it's the primary reason for the tax.

People are bending over backwards to try to justify the tone of that article / subject line.

I wonder why.

[krispos42]

196. The primary reason for the tax...

...is that the rich and wealthy have invested a shitload of money into convincing people that taxing the rich and wealthy is a) communist, b) unamerican, and c)the sure way to an economic collapse.

[redqueen]

200. So... you're saying Obama isn't raising taxes on the wealthy?

And doing this instead?

[krispos42]

208. I believe his tax plan includes raising the top tax brackets

from about 32% to 39%. However, this has not happened yet, whereas the tobacco tax to fund expanded SCHIP is already law.

And this tax affects everybody based on the number of packs they smoke, not based on how much money they make. Bill Gates sucking down a pack a day pays the same amount as my neighbor with the same habit. So, it raises taxes on all smokers, a portion of which are wealthy.

[vaberella]

54. That would be good if second hand smoking didn't affect the health

of the people around smokers. At that point they're living their lives by risking the lives of those around them.

[redqueen]

175. Good point.

Funny how that just gets passed over.

[Samantha]

205. You are exactly right - but I don't see that as a liberal idea

I see it as simply a rationale expectation most Americans should be able to have.

Sam

[Zynx]

44. You have to raise revenues somewhere. The children's health program is not a one time thing.

It needs a proper source of funding.

[flaminbats]

64. AMEN!!

Smokers are rich and poor, but sin taxes should be based on how much someone smokes or drinks..not on how much a smoker or drinker makes.

I drink, but I support higher taxes on alcoholic beverages. I think every penny of these sin taxes should be placed into a trust fund to provide health care for the uninsured. But even if that doesn't happen, taxpayers pay hundreds of billions just in interest payments on the national debt. So cutting sin taxes isn't the solution, raising them is only part of the solution!

Tobacco taxes will help pay for universal health care, it will help pay for the high costs of lung cancer..and those who can't afford the treatment.

[ohheckyeah]

87. I'd love to know

what happened to the billions awarded to states who sued the tobacco companies. That money was supposed to pay for health care costs. Just like lottery ticket sales are supposed to pay for schools.

[flaminbats]

107. in Georgia it's called the Hope Scholarship..

That's why I supported a state lottery. Not because I like gambling, but so someone who does can contribute without breaking a law.

Actually lawsuits and taxes are two different issues. Lawsuits allow individuals to get compensated for fraud or problems that occurred because of criminal activity. Taxes are another means of raising revenue. Most of the money people pay for cigarettes is in taxes, not for the cost of a pack.

A cigarette tax doesn't eliminate the problem, it only helps pay for it. It doesn't reduce the price for health care, it does help pay for some uninsured person's medical bill.

[joshcryer]

129. Too bad in 14 states it doesn't even go to fund children because adults are using it.

*shrug*

[laugle]

85. Good point! nt

[mkultra]

22. sounds like a distortion to me.

[redqueen]

26. Same here.

Apparently at least a few people here think it's a fitting charge to level at him.

[biopowertoday]

47. A tax is a tax. He broke his promise.

[redqueen]

62. Yuh huh... welcome to DU.

Enjoy your stay.

[DevonRex]

67. Don't buy cigarettes. It's really that simple. Enjoy your stay.

[DevonRex]

69. On second thought, keep supporting the corporations that are willingly killing

people with their product if that is what makes you happy.

[biopowertoday]

90. Pot calling the kettle black. you are one hijacking this

thread after you just gave a moralistic lecture to posters on another thead.

Have a good day.

[DevonRex]

94. Dude, this thread is ABOUTcigarettes.

:eyes:

[biopowertoday]

102. hey dudy, its about Pres. Obama breaking his pledge. Now you know.

[DevonRex]

103. If you look around, you'll find you're definitely in the minority about that.

[biopowertoday]

112. I am not going to follow your mentality of if the herd jumps

off the cliff it must be right. Following the herd mentality gets you nowhere except off the cliff and you are on your way.

[Lisalisa]

185. that is the popularity fallacy

One can be in the minority and be right. The truth can only be found by debating the issue, not counting its supporters and opponents.

[redqueen]

186. Welcome to DU. You sure jumped in with both feet.

Enjoy your stay.

[CakeGrrl]

15. That's the AP trying to create the perception that Obama is breaking a promise

It makes sense to interpret the campaign pledge as not raising personal taxes. I wouldn't expect the same hands-off treatment for consumer products, especially something that isn't a necessity.

[Overseas]

27. It sure is a clear example of our conservative media jumping on any chance

to demonize our popular president.

[redqueen]

31. Yes, that's how I see it too. (nt)

[Deja Q]

206. I'm compelled to agree; it is spin.

[Blue-Jay]

16. *

[stillcool]

20. I think we should tax booze..

it kills more people than cigarettes. What happened to the tobacco industry that they hold no sway in Congress anymore?

[dionysus]

151. aw hell no!!! not me 40's!!!!!

:(

[DevonRex]

28. So don't smoke. Problem solved. nt

[martymar64]

97. Tell that to Obama, he smokes.

But I'm sure he gets the Presidential discount.

[firedupdem]

111. If he does still smoke he doesn't need a discount, he can afford his. n/t

[martymar64]

113. Since he's the monarch, he probably will get them for free

[firedupdem]

115. No he's the President and people should get used to that. He

didn't go back on any promise. Manufactured outrage for people who are upset that he's in office, or for some other reason. He and Michelle pay their own way. They aren't on the take. If he needs something he'll pay for it.

[martymar64]

132. I'm being facetious - I like Obama

I'm making fun of the nanny staters that are all gung ho to tax tobacco into nonexistence but continue to endorse alcohol and prescription drugs.

[firedupdem]

142. gotcha!

:hi:

[firedupdem]

32. If you don't go buy cigarettes you won't be affected. Really simple

:eyes:

[bunnies]

34. Whats weird is - the prices went up in my area WEEKS ago.

WTF is up with that?! Were the stores just price gauging smokers?

[ohheckyeah]

88. Yes they were. n/t

[dionysus]

209. not the stores... the cig companies... they dictate prices like with gas.

[stopbush]

35. Good. As far as the user tax affecting the poor disproportionately,

have you checked the price lately for a pack of smokes? What the hell are poor people doing buying these fuckin' luxury items? Aren't they like $4-5 a pack? If you have a pack-a-day habit, you're spending $1500 a year on cigs. In 2007, the poverty threshold for a single person was making under $10,590 a year. That means a pack-a-day poor person spends over 10% of their GROSS yearly income on cigs.

Think it's maybe time for a lifestyle decision/change? Only 25% of Americans smoke, down from the 50% of the 1950s. Are people really going to take Obama to task for raising a user tax on a deadly product that most of the country abhors and doesn't use?

[martymar64]

98. You do realize cigarettes are more addictive than heroin, don't you?

Must have a nice view from your high horse.

[joshcryer]

131. Actually, the poorest people used to roll their own, which translated to about $1 a pack.

Probably less.

But Obama's tax made RYO cigarettes go from $1.08 a pound to $24 a pound. Not a typo.

It will result in less people smoking, but that will also result in SCHIP being underfunded.

[dionysus]

150. it's approaching 10 bux now dude...

[cherokeeprogressive]

36. Smoke 'em if ya got 'em (it's for the children). n/t

[MadBadger]

37. I dont know if this qualifies as a campaign promise, but I do know this is a hit and run

[DevonRex]

45. Huh. You're right. I didn't notice until you said it.

[redqueen]

176. Well they got a bunch of DUers to agree and defend it.

So... mission accomplished.

[Avalux]

38. WTF? This is absurd. Tobacco tax does not equate income tax.

Obama 'campaign promise' didn't have anything to do with this - a tobacco tax isn't dependent on income and you only pay it if you buy cigarettes; it's not mandatory. Stupid article.

[Orsino]

190. No, but right wingers and their apologists...

...who for decades tried to pretend that federal income tax was the only sort we ever paid have suddenly discovered others--and they are outraged. :eyes:

[fifthoffive]

39. Fair tax

If you don't want to pay the tax, don't buy tobacco.

I understand the arguments regarding addiction, but really, it has always been the smoker's choice. The dangers of tobacco use have been screamed about since the 1960s. If you've chosen to take up smoking in the last 50 years, I have no sympathy for your plight now. I understand that it is difficult to quit, but I don't sympathize.

You want to tax my caffeine? Fine. You want to tax my shortening? Fine. Tax my alcohol (more)? Fine. I've got no problem with any of that. Might actually lead to a healthier population. Use the tax revenue to partially fund universal health care.

By the way, just so you don't get the idea that I'm a "Fair Tax" proponent, I also believe in a progressive income tax, and believe me, I pay. I appreciate the services provided by my government, even if there are some things I'd personally rather not pay for.

[TooRaLoo]

41. Smart move.

A tax that no one pays unless they want to. And more people will stop smoking. And more money will go to health care. Win-win-win. I say this as someone who smoked for a year and quit yesterday.

[Leftist Agitator]

79. A whole YEAR??!!

Why aren't you the plucky one, sir or madam. A whole fucking YEAR!!!

:wow:

[ohheckyeah]

89. What happens when

all these people quit smoking and there is no tax money for the health care? It's not win-win-win.

[martymar64]

99. Then folks can just grow their own tobacco

Just like people grow their own marijuana. They can't tax what you grow yourself. And tobacco seeds aren't taxed under this plan. Problem solved for smokers.

[joshcryer]

161. Yeah, expect a tobacco underground ala marijuana.

Herbal stores will probably start selling "herbal tobacco" (uncured tobacco) and kits so people can cure it themselves if they want.

[Zynx]

42. If you quite smoking your taxes wouldn't go up. Mine aren't going up.

That's the wonder of not smoking.

[cottonseed]

48. Idiot article. With this line of reasoning one could say cap and trade breaks the promise.

[redqueen]

95. Good point, but don't expect the lying M$M's cheerleaders to notice. (nt)

[Lisalisa]

183. cap and trade is a tax for the wealthy

The middle class and the poor don't go around shooting tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Big companies do that.

[junkiebrewster]

50. As a smoker

I do not object to this tax.

I'm in the process of cutting back in order to eventually quit. A few years ago, I smoked a pack a day. About a year ago, I went down to half a pack a day, mainly due to cost. About a month ago, with my beautiful girlfriend's support, I decided to begin tapering off, with the plan being to quit by the summer. I'm currently down to three cigarettes a day. Next week, I go down to two.

I went to buy my weekly pack yesterday and was shocked at the price hike. They literally went up a dollar overnight. HOwever, it is a entirely voluntary tax, as others have pointed out. In my view, I now have even more incentive to quit.

[joshcryer]

158. I highly doubt one person in this thread would support an alcohol tax.

I see one person supporting a fat food tax, but even then, I doubt they'd accept the 2400% tax hike that "roll your own" smokers have to deal with.

[depakid]

215. I'd support increasing alcohol taxes

and use the money to fund mental health and addiction services.

[AtomicKitten]

51. Impeachment is the only remedy! Smoke up, Johnny.

[ohheckyeah]

53. From what

I'm hearing, I think there is going to be a backlash. I would guess that the majority of smokers are in the south, and cigarettes are manufactured mainly in the south. I look for an increase in black market sales of cigarettes.

I think smokers see this as a punitive tax passed by liberals trying to force them to bend to their will.

The "sin" tax could have been spread out over other sins like alcohol but the alcohol companies have more pull than the tobacco companies. Alcohol has certainly caused much more human misery than cigarettes but it's still acceptable.

[phleshdef]

55. Christ, talk about a bunch of out of context bullshit. And I'm a smoker...

He is talking fucking income taxes. That has nothing to do with taxes being raised on unnecessary products like tobacco or alcohol. Anyone with a lick off common sense would realize that tobacco taxes have nothing to do with income or families or any of that shit. Get off your friggin' pedestal, this kind of shit is embarassing.

[joshcryer]

159. He said any tax. His words were very specific. He clearly indicated he wouldn't effect taxes...

...upon those with an income under $250k. I don't really care about that, though. What bothers me is that it's going to result in an underfunded program and it will ruin chances of universial health care because it will invariably fail.

[phleshdef]

181. A tax on a product is completely unrelated to income, so you still have no point.

Find yourself some common sense and then try to use it.

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Overseas]

57. See Post #15. //nt

[AnotherMother4Peace]

63. OMG - Limbaugh was just spewing this same garbage - wow - this might be the big guy himself. nt

[WI_DEM]

58. Sounds good to me.

[martymar64]

100. At least they don't tax marijuana

SO EVERYBODY SMOKE MORE GANJA!!!

[Occam Bandage]

59. How absurd. This tax is entirely voluntary. nt

[Political Heretic]

61. I can't believe you posted this bullshit article as something serious.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

65. This is not a tax on families who make under $250,000.

:shrug:

The only downside to this is there's a chance it would encourage people like you to smoke less.

When you could be doing the world a favor and smoke much, much more. Filterless. At gas stations.

[AyanEva]

72. While filling up the tank?

:D

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

74. Perhaps checking the level in the tank.

[Deep13]

70. Yeah, but it's kind of a voluntary tax.

If one doesn't buy them, one pays no tax.

[AyanEva]

71. Good.

This will help me to get off my ass and quit!

[high density]

75. This is an easy tax to avoid

I make under $250,000 a year and I've calculated I will pay $0 under this tax. And it's 100% legal!

[izzybeans]

76. In bizarro world, sure.

[SpartanDem]

82. can't believe that 8 assholes actually rec'd this.

[redqueen]

84. I can't believe the thread isn't shut down.

When BS spin like this is peddled as actually having a point, it makes me wonder why it's allowed to stand.

There's another thread about this same POS editorial which treats it as the garbage it is... this, though... no excuse. Utter BS.

[Drunken Irishman]

93. Maybe they were being ironic.

[greguganus]

86. Help clean up the environment and say hell no to new tax. Smoke other people's butts. n/t

[Uzybone]

91. Mods mods hello!!! This is distortion of the worst order.

this is shameful on DU.

[ShareTheWoods]

92. Why wasn't booze hit with the same tax increase?

Just think of all the extra income compared to cigs alone!

[Sebastian Doyle]

101. Tobacco taxes are unfair!

Because people might quit, and then the tobacco companies would have less money to give to the DLC. :(

[Hello_Kitty]

106. I do agree that tobacco taxes are regressive and unfair but Obama broke no pledge.

He promised not to raise income taxes on families earning less than $250k.

[Fido Dido]

110. That's inaccurate

He did not say "income taxes" only. From the article, read what he said:

Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

[Name removed]

116. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

119. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

122. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[joshcryer]

135. Indeed, and the vast majority of smokers? They make under $250k a year.

[MadBadger]

108. Purveyor, you are a coward!

Hit and Run, Hit and Run

[Purveyor]

146. I am NOT obligated to sit on this thread and defend the topic. This is an AP article

that is getting wide distribution and should be acknowledged by members of this forum to either endorse, dispute or ignore.

Burying ones head in the sand certainly won't make it go away.

As far as being a coward...piss off.

BTW, if you need an example of the distribution this article is experiencing, take a browse of the Goggle News hits on this title.

http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=%22campaign+pledges+on+taxes+went+up+in+puffs%22&cf=all&scoring=d

[redqueen]

177. Why not state your take on the 'article'?

Maybe that's what they were referring to wrt cowardice.

Why not say if you agree or disagree with the condemnation when you post it? It's a highly inflammatory article, especially with that headline.

[michaz]

109. Are they taxing alcohol too? n/t

[polichick]

118. Good idea. Pot too, as soon as they legalize it. All these things are optional...

...so the tax can be avoided ~ we can pick and choose our vices more carefully.

[joshcryer]

123. Heresay!

People complaining about smoke in this thread would go bezerk if it was alcohol!

[redqueen]

Did you mean 'heresy'?

Not sure how 'heresay' (hearsay?) works there...

[michaz]

126. Just wondered as alcohol can cause some health problems too. n/t

[joshcryer]

139. Alcohol isn't as addictive and most people don't (can't) use it as a vice.

This is basically coming down on people who have a vice to get them through their pathetic and shit days. It is no shock that the vast majority of smokers are the lower class, the people cleaning your toilets or flipping your burgers.

[rasputin1952]

125. The only "fair" tax is one that affects everyone...tax toilet paper...

:hi:

Then again, someone like Limbaugh or Hannity are so full of crap, they'd pay through their asses...which is a good thing...:D

[joshcryer]

128. Bu...bu.. toilet paper is a "necessity"!

[Name removed]

127. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

134. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bjorn Against]

144. And may I just add that it is extremely dishonest for you to attack me without giving the context.

Please don't simply tell everyone that I think something is a valid critique and then fail to mention that I disagree with the critique. Your attack on me is extremely intellectually dishonest, you failed to provide any sort of context and gave a false impression that I agreed with the article.

[redqueen]

163. No I didn't. I said you thought it was fair criticism.

Which you do.

[Bjorn Against]

164. But when you just say that without giving the context it leaves a false impression

I don't know if you noticed this but your post was deleted because it was in violation of the rules, you can't pull my words out of context and post on various threads across this site. I don't have time to be looking at various threads for the out of context quotes that you attack me with so I can defend myself, if you want to debate I will debate you but I am not going to put up with you taking my words out of context to try to discredit me.

[redqueen]

166. My post was deleted because you can't link to other posts.

I forget about that rule all the time.

I should have just mentioned that some of the people claiming that they only want the right to dissent are actually in favor of people posting and supporting this kind of crap... which most here consider M$M BS spin.

Oh well.

[Bjorn Against]

169. Actually you should have been honest and not taken words completely out of context.

And wouldn't it make sense that if people want the right to dissent that they would probably not have big problems with other people posting contrary opinions? You can't support the right to dissent yet oppose other people's right to dissent.

[redqueen]

173. You see dissent here, I see people backing up corporate media spin.

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

[Bjorn Against]

178. You will also have to agree to quit making me an issue in threads that have nothing to do with me.

What you did is against the rules, and you still have not apologized for taking my words out of context and using them to attack me in other threads. If you want to debate me then you need to debate me in places where I can know I will see you and be able to respond. If I had not read the comments on this thread I would have never saw your post and I would not have been able to point out that you had taken my words out of context in a way that was totally dishonest. You violated DU rules, and posted my words in a dishonest fashion. I do not "agree to disagree" with that behavior.

[redqueen]

179. Narcissistic much? You're not the only person

who thinks M$M BS is valid criticism.

I didn't take your words out of context or attack you.

Again, you think the 'article' in the OP is fair criticism. That's all I said. That is not out of context.

And no, I don't want to debate you. Like I've said more than once now, we will have to agree to disagree. You see dissent... I see corporate media talking points.

[mkultra]

184. The issue of dissent is not global in scope

Everyone has a right to dissent, they just dont have an unlimited right to dissent HERE! you get the meaning. People come here to talk about democratic ideas and are generally expected to support the democratic candidates. If you are against these ideas, feel free to speak your mind, just do it elsewhere.

[Baikonour]

213. "Everyone has a right ot dissent."

Not on the internet, apparently.

The real problem here on DU is that a lot of people take offense to tone, not substance. It's rather childish.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

149. I'm a smoker and can't say I'm exactly happy about this, but to be fair

smokers cost society more then we put back in.

[joshcryer]

154. Not really, they don't live as long (and die before health care becomes an issue).

In the long run people who die 15 year sooner than the average will lower health care costs.

[Lorien]

180. Oh, that's bullshit

both of my grandparents died of smoking related illnesses...at age 89. They struggled with emphysema for the last decade of their lives. It was NOT a fast way to die, believe me. I found it especially unfair because my grandmother never smoked; hers was caused by second hand smoke.

From the American lung association:

Smoking Among Older Adults Fact Sheet

September 2008

Older smokers are at greater risks from smoking because they have smoked longer (an average of 40 years), tend to be heavier smokers, and are more likely to suffer from smoking-related illnesses. They are also significantly less likely than younger smokers to believe that smoking harms their health.1

*
Today’s generation of older Americans had smoking rates among the highest of any U.S. generation. In the mid-1960s, about 54 percent of adult males were current smokers and another 21 percent were former smokers; in 2006, about 24 percent of adult males were smokers and another 24 percent were former smokers.2

*
In 2006, almost 20 million Americans over the age of 45 smoked, accounting for over 43 percent of all adult smokers. Ten percent of Americans over 65 years of age currently smoked.3

*
An estimated 438,000 Americans die each year from diseases caused by smoking. Smoking is responsible for more than one in five U.S. deaths.4 About half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by the addiction.5

*
Smoking is directly responsible for more than 90 percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, or emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths and approximately 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in women and men, respectively. Smoking is also a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke and lower respiratory tract infections - all leading causes of death in those over 50 years of age.6

*
COPD prevalence rates are highest among those 65 years of age and older and the disease consistently ranks among the top ten most common chronic health conditions and sources of daily activity limitation. COPD is the fourth-leading cause of death and is predicted to become third by 2020.7

*
Men 65 or older who smoke are twice as likely to die from a stroke, and women smokers are about one and a half times as likely to die from a stroke than their nonsmoking counterparts. The risk of dying from a heart attack is 60 percent higher for smokers than nonsmokers 65 or older.8

*
Cigarette smokers have a far greater chance of developing dementia of any kind including Alzheimer’s disease compared to nonsmokers.9 Smokers also have two to three times the risk of developing cataracts, the leading cause of blindness and visual loss, as nonsmokers.10

*
Smoking reduces one’s normal life expectancy by an average of 13 to 15 years - thereby eliminating retirement years for most smokers.11

*
Quitting smoking has proven health benefits, even at a late age. When an older person quits smoking, circulation improves immediately, and the lungs begin to repair damage. In one year, the added risk of heart disease is cut almost in half, and risk of stroke, lung disease, and cancer diminish. Among smokers who quit at age 65, men gained 1.4 to 2.0 years of life and women gained 2.7 to 3.4 years.12

*
Just cutting down on cigarettes, but not quitting entirely, does not reduce mortality risks from tobacco-related diseases.13

*
A study found that middle-aged smokers and former smokers with mild or moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease breathed easier after quitting. After one year the women who quit smoking had 2 times more improvement in lung function compared with the men who quit.14

*
Many older adults say they do not quit smoking because doing so offers no benefit at an advanced age. However, there is strong evidence that smoking cessation even late in life not only adds years to life, but also improves quality of life. Similar to this belief, most obstacles brought up by older adults for not quitting are based on incorrect information, such as the potential health risks from cessation aids like nicotine replacement therapy.15

*
Although most former smokers preferred quitting cold turkey, less than 5 percent will have long term success.16 Using a tobacco treatment plan doubles the quitting success rate. Treatments for quitting smoking have been found to be effective and could decrease health care costs. Effective treatments combine counseling and medications.17

For more information on tobacco, please review the Trends in Tobacco Use Report and Lung Disease Data in the Data and Statistics section of our website at www.lungusa.org, or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

Sources:
1. Rimer BK, Orleans CT, Keintz MK, Cristinzio S, & Fleisher L. The older smoker: status, challenges and opportunities for intervention. Chest. 1990; 97:547-53.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1965-2006. Calculations for 1997-2006 were performed by the American Lung Association Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.
3. Ibid.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 1997–2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. July 1, 2005; 54(25):625-628. Available here. Accessed on October 3, 2007.
5. World Health Organization. Programmes and Projects. Tobacco Free Initiative. WHO Report on Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 – The MPOWER Package: Tobacco Facts. Available here. Accessed March 3, 2008.
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Department of Health and Human Services. Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.
7. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Healthy People 2010. Progress Review: Respiratory Health. June 29, 2004. Available here. Accessed on February 29, 2008.
8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attribute Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Economic Costs – United States, 1995-1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2002;51(4):3003-3.
9. Anstey KJ, von Sanden C, Salim A, O’Kearney R. Smoking as a Risk Factor for Dementia and Cognitive Decline: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies. American Journal of Epidemiology. August 15 2007; 166:367-378.
10. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.
11. Ibid.
12. Taylor DH, Hasselblad V, Henley J, Thun MD, & Sloan FA. Benefits of Smoking Cessation for Longevity. American Journal of Public Health. 2002; 92:990-6.
13. Godtfredsen NS, Holst C, Prescott E, Vestbo J, & Olser M. Smoking Reduction, Smoking Cessation, and Mortality: A 16-year Follow-up of 19,732 Men and Women from the Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2002; 156:994-1001.
14. Connett JE, Murray RP, Buist AS, Wise RA, Bailey WC, Lindgren PG, Owens GR. Changes in Smoking Status Affect Women More than Men: Results of the Lung Health Study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2003; 157: 973-979.
15. Kerr S, Watson H, Tolson D, Lough M, & Brown M. Developing Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation Training/Education Initiatives in Partnership with Older People and Health Professionals. Caledonian Nursing & Midwifery Research Centre: Glasgow 2004.
16. Hughes JR, Keely J & Naud S. Shape of the Relapse Curve and Long-Term Abstinence Among Untreated Smokers. Addiction. January 2004; 99:29-38.
17. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. Clinical Practice Guideline. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. May 2008.

View American Lung Association Nationwide Research Awardees for 2006-2007

Smoking 101 Fact Sheet

August 2008

Cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity (disease and illness) and premature mortality (death) worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 438,000 American lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco's carcinogens. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker.1

* Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer. Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80-90 percent of COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths.2
* About 8.6 million people in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking. That means that for every person who dies of a smoking-related disease, there are 20 more people who suffer from at least one serious illness associated with smoking.3
* Among current smokers, chronic lung disease accounts for 73 percent of smoking-related conditions. Even among smokers who have quit chronic lung disease accounts for 50 percent of smoking-related conditions.4
* The list of diseases caused by smoking includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema), coronary heart disease, stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, pneumonia, periodontitis, and bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, throat, cervical, kidney, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. Smoking is also a major factor in a variety of other conditions and disorders, including slowed healing of wounds, infertility, and peptic ulcer disease.5
* Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of preterm deliveries, and some 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even apparently healthy, full-term babies of smokers have been found to be born with narrowed airways and reduced lung function.6
* In 2005, 10.7 percent of all women smoked during pregnancy, down almost 45 percent from 1990.7
* Neonatal health-care costs attributable to maternal smoking in the U.S. have been estimated at $366 million per year, or $704 per maternal smoker.8
* Smoking by parents is also associated with a wide range of adverse effects in their children, including exacerbation of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. Secondhand smoke causes more than an estimated 202,000 asthma episodes, 790,000 physician visits for buildup of fluid in the middle ear (otitis media, or middle ear infection), and 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) cases each year.9
* In 2006, an estimated 45.3 million, or 20.6% of adults (aged 18+) were current smokers. The annual prevalence of smoking declined 40 percent between 1965 and 1990, but has been virtually unchanged since then.10
* Males tend to have significantly higher rates of smoking prevalence than females. In 2006, 23.6 percent of males currently smoked compared to 17.8 percent of females.11
* Prevalence of current smoking in 2006 was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (32.2%), intermediate among non-Hispanic whites (21.8%) and non-Hispanic blacks (22.6%), and lowest among Hispanics (15.1%) and Asians (10.3%).12
* As smoking declines among the non-Hispanic white population, tobacco companies have targeted both non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics with intensive merchandising, which includes billboards, advertising in media targeted to those communities, and sponsorship of civic groups and athletic, cultural, and entertainment events. In 2005, advertising and promotion by the five major tobacco companies totaled $13.1 billion.13
* Tobacco advertising also plays an important role in encouraging young people to begin a lifelong addiction to smoking before they are old enough to fully understand its long-term health risk.14 Ninety percent of adults who smoke started by the age of 21, and half of them became regular smokers by their 18th birthday.15
* In 2007, 20 percent of high school students were current smokers.16 Over 6 percent of middle school students were current smokers in 2006.17
* Secondhand smoke involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people's cigarettes is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a known human (Group A) carcinogen, responsible for approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 (ranging 22,700-69,600) heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers annually in the United States.18
* Workplaces nationwide are going smoke-free to provide clean indoor air and protect employees from the life-threatening effects of secondhand smoke. Nearly 70 percent of the U.S. workforce worked under a smoke free policy in 1999, but the percentage of workers protected varies by state, ranging from a high of 83.9 percent in Utah and 81.2 percent in Maryland to 48.7 percent in Nevada.19
* Employers have a legal right to restrict smoking in the workplace, or implement a totally smoke-free workplace policy. Exceptions may arise in the case of collective bargaining agreements with unions.
* Nicotine is an addictive drug, which when inhaled in cigarette smoke reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body intravenously. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking a difficult habit to break.20
* In 2006, an estimated 45.7 million adults were former smokers. Of the 45.3 million current adult smokers, 44 percent stopped smoking at least 1 day in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely.21
* Quitting smoking often requires multiple attempts. Using counseling or medication alone increases the chance of a quit attempt being successful; the combination of both is even more effective.22
* Nicotine replacement products can help relieve withdrawal symptoms people experience when they quit smoking.23
* There are seven medications approved by the FDA to aid in quitting smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over-the-counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription. Buproprion SR (Zyban) and varenicline tartrate (Chantix) are non-nicotine pills.24
* Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective. Telephone quitline counseling is widely available and is effective for many different groups of smokers.25
* Nicotine replacement therapies are helpful in quitting when combined with a support program such as the American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking (FFS), which addresses psychological and behavioral addictions to smoking and strategies for coping with urges to smoke.

For more information on smoking, please review the Trends in Tobacco Use report and Lung Disease Data in the Data and Statistics section of our website at www.lungusa.org, or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

Sources:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses United States, 1997-2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . July 2005. Vol. 54;25:625-628 .
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS). Tobacco Use in the United States. January 27, 2004.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking Attributable Morbidity - U.S., 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2003 Sept; 52(35): 842-844.
4. Ibid.
5. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.
6. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. Births: Final Data for 2005. December 5, 2007; (56)5.
8. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. State Estimates of Neonatal Health-Care Costs Associated with Maternal Smoking U.S., 1996. Vol. 53, No. 39, October 8, 2004.
9. California Environmental Protection Agency. Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant. June 2005.
10. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Analysis by the American Lung Association, Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Cigarette Report for 2004 and 2005. April 2007. Accessed on February 8, 2008.
14. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1994.
15. Mowery PD, Brick PD, Farrelly MC. Legacy First Look Report 3. Pathways to Established Smoking: Results from the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Washington DC: American Legacy Foundation. October 2000.
16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance � United States, 2007. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. June 6, 2008; 57(SS-04).
17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Office on Smoking and Health. National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). 2006 NYTS Data and Documentation. April 18, 2008. Accessed on April 30, 2008.
18. California Environmental Protection Agency. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke. June 2005. Accessed on 4/30/07.
19. Shopland DR, Gerlach KK, Burns DM, Hartman AM, Gibson JT. State-Specific Trends in Smokefree Workplace Policy Coverage: the Current Population Tobacco Use Supplement, 1993 to 1999. J Occup Environ Med 2001; 43:680-686.
20. National Institute of Drug Abuse. Research Report on Nicotine: Addiction, August 2001.
21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Analysis by the American Lung Association, Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.
22. Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.
23. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Tobacco Use. You Can Quit Smoking. Accessed on October 2, 2007.
24. Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.
25. Ibid.

[mkultra]

182. people who smoke recieve more serious and expensive health care

Not to mention the amount of damage the do to the health of others. They may die early but they burn up their fair share of cost before they go. Not to mention the drop in work years that a smoker costs the SS system.

[Arkana]

152. Um, I don't think he meant this when he said "no new taxes".

[joshcryer]

155. He should not have used the word 'any' in his blanket statement, imo.

25% of the population, most of whom are lower class, probably didn't expect it (a simple local news poll they did here shows that many people didn't and many are going to quit).

My main problem is that it's going to result in SCHIP being highly underfunded and that 14 states allow adults to be covered for a program that is supposed to help children.

[HughMoran]

165. April fools!

This is a joke, right?

[denem]

167. Obama vetoes SCHIP

that the April fools IMO.

[ecstatic]

170. Fail. People can quit anytime nft

[Zavulon]

171. Excellent. More regressive taxes.

Like this was actually the best way to raise revenue.

I'm disappointed, that's for sure.

[fujiyama]

194. I find your title deceptive

Smoking is a stupid habit regardless of who does it - whether they are rich or poor.

Maybe it's a regressive tax for those unwilling to quit.

And I say, tax junk food and fast food as well. It would be more difficult to regulate though.

[sniffa]

197. I think he should tax internet usage.

Something modest like $0.15/hour would fund so many projects.

[fujiyama]

199. I wouldn't mind a tax

if it funded much needed technology projects - like maybe the revamped smart power grid or something...or a related infrastructure (perhaps broadband).

But I think charging for bandwidth used might make more sense.

[sniffa]

203. No, just usage.

[sniffa]

195. My dad quit cold turkey so you all can piss off.

And I now buy my cigarettes in NH.

[mvd]

198. Article distorts the truth

A tax on tobacco isn't a personal tax.

[redqueen]

201. This same 'article' is posted in another thread...

but in that thread it's not presented as actual news, like in this one.

[doc03]

202. Sounds like you tuned in to Glenn Beck

today, you got all his talking points right. I do agree though and I quit smoking 28 years ago. If you are a smoker that takes back most of your middle class tax cuts. You better brace yourself for a lot more, tax on your employer provided health care and the Cap and Trade will both hit the middle class.

[crimsonblue]

207. we gotta pay for children's health care. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

211. Oh bullshit. By that absolute standard a rise in state or local tax would make him a liar.

Nice work, hater.

"I can make a firm pledge," he said in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12. "Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes."

I don't see any language exempting state or local or excise taxes, so let's just impeach him now. :sarcasm:

[Liberalalltheway]

214. Good, smokers should pay more

U shouldn't poison your body with that stuff anyway

[Vinca]

218. Why are the poor more likely to smoke than the rich?

Seriously. I don't understand it. I'm closer to poor than rich and I couldn't afford to smoke. Eat/Smoke, pay rent/smoke, clothes/smoke. It's not just the poor who become addicted to nicotine or booze or anything else, so that's not an excuse since many people quit without spending a dime on treatment. The first news piece I saw on this was a woman who decided she couldn't afford to smoke anymore and was going to quit. In my mind, that makes the tax a good thing. If everyone quits smoking we'll fund kid's healthcare another way.