horst Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Iowas looking to raise the tax on cigarettes bringing it close to 1.00$ a pack. here One quote I really enjoyed is this one. [ QUOTE ] "We need to fund Medicaid so that none of Iowa's most vulnerable are cut off from the health care coverage they need, and the cigarette tax is the right way to do it," said Sarah Swisher, a nurse who is state director of the group. "Tobacco-related illnesses kill 4,600 Iowans a year and cost the state $235 million in health care costs" annually, she said, while the current cigarette tax raises $88 million per year. [/ QUOTE ] Killed 4,600 Iowans right.All I can say is they should also look into taxing the crap outta fast food, alchohol, and find a way to to tax anyone having unprotocted sex.I bet alchoholism, Aids, drunk driving, and heart failure due to unhealthy eating habits killed more people in this state last year then smoking did but taxing smokers seems like the right thing to do. Personally Im not sure how it is smokers get singled out every time taxes need to be raised, theres about a million other things that you can do thatll make you just as dead, tax them for a change.I know for a fact Iowa ranks near the top for alcoholism in the state, tack another 1.00$ a bottle on booze, nobodied even notice.Sorry about the rant, I do smoke, and Im getting tired of being singled out as a good source of revenue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontHunter Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax Here, Here.......I have to agree with ya on this one...but I'm sure we will hear from the non-smokers for sure......but like you said I'm sure they drink tho.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax I think you have a good point. They should tax all of those. My insurance at school is $675 a month, yes a month, and I would like all the people who drive up medical cost to pay more so that I could afford to buy groceries after paying my insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popgun Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax I agree with you horst. It is not fair to always be singled out for the tax increases. Your State received millions from the huge tobacco law suits a few years ago, and that money was supposed to go to help the States medicaid systems out of the crunch. If your State is like ours, little of that money went to the purpose which it was intended. Much was diverted to the general fund and then dispersed to parks & recreation, State Highways and Bridges, and to help fund programs for the homeless, and etc., etc., etc.. If your tobacco tax increases, those funds will also get diverted just like it has here, and all the other states that have increased their cigarette taxes in the last few years. If the taxes go up too high you will be doing the same as most of the smokers here. You will be ordering your smokes on-line at Indian Reservations in New York. Then you will be paying no State taxes and the State will loose even more revenue. The State will report that smoking has decreased in the State in order to explain their shortfall, but actually the same smokers will be buying smokes on-line. Okay. So Smoking is not good for me. I have Health Insurance. Someday I will quit for good. I quit about 20 times a day, and have been quiting for many years. .....popgun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax I couldn't agree more Horst. If what they say is true, then all us smokers are gonna die 20, sometimes 30 years before anyone else. You'd think they'd look at smokers as a savings ...20 to 30 years worth of health-care savings.....LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax Dont know Chris, looks like cigarettes are on their way to being so ridiculously priced for anyone, that noone should want to spend the money on them. My parents still smoke, my step father who will be 61 this year and was a viet nam veteran, and is now disabled. He draws his disability and is able to make a little money here and there with computers. They are pretty well always broke and always complaining about money, in yet they still have their cigarettes. I really dont get it, they asked me for a loan a while back, and knowing that cannot pay it back, I told them I would give them the money only if they quit smoking, hoping they would really try this time. That would benefit them in so many ways. I still ended up giving them more than I probably should have, but they never did quit. Kind of getting off the subject of the taxes, but cigarettes do affect many more than just those who chose to smoke them, especially children in homes of those who smoke. Will never forget my first thoughts when my doctor first told me in the summer of 2003 that I had a mass in my lung. Honestly, second hand smoke was the first thing that came to my mind and that was what I told my doctor. Sadly my mother got quite upset about that, but she still refuses to quit. Still I do agree with you and I dont think that raising taxes on cigarettes is the right approach. Sorry to go on, but this kind of is a sensitive subject with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeNRA Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax LOL, this is another reason I quit! I got tired of spending $1500 a year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntingInMaine Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax Maine is good at raising the "sin taxes" too. Their reasoning is that the increase in price will stop people from smoking, and at the same time they will use the increased tax money to start new programs to help the needy. That sounds great, I am all for helping those who need the help. BUT they first stated that the tax is suppose to make people stop buying butts. Doesn't that mean that they don't expect to be collecting this extra money because people are going to quit smoking? And that would mean the money will NOT be there for their new programs! Please don't take what I am about to write as saying that smoking isn't harmful to your health, but if you watch the television or read the papers, you will see that every group is saying that smoking kills a million people a day, cancer kills another couple million a day, diabetes kills another million, aids is killing even larger numbers ect. If these numbers are accurate it would seem people would be dropping dead all around us and over population wouldn't be a concern. Again, I am not saying that these things don't kill people, I am just questioning the numbers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax [ QUOTE ] Iowas looking to raise the tax on cigarettes bringing it close to 1.00$ a pack. [/ QUOTE ] $1.00 a pack?? gee, they are $9.00/pack up here!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Iowas looking to raise the tax on cigarettes bringing it close to 1.00$ a pack. [/ QUOTE ] $1.00 a pack?? gee, they are $9.00/pack up here!! [/ QUOTE ] Think he meant a dollar just in tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Iowas looking to raise the tax on cigarettes bringing it close to 1.00$ a pack. [/ QUOTE ] $1.00 a pack?? gee, they are $9.00/pack up here!! [/ QUOTE ] Think he meant a dollar just in tax. [/ QUOTE ] ohhhh ok lol, i was going to say, they havent been a dollar a pack since the 80's i think, i am only 18 so i dont exactly remember when. thats a lot of tax on ONE pack of cigarettes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted February 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax Oh, I agree with what your saying wtn, but again, smoking isnt the only thing that affects other people.Funny that smoking is being banned in a lotta public establishments but you can go into the same place, drink untill you cant stand up and then go get on the highway in your car and drive home.Id rather have a guy at the table next to me smoking then have a table full of drunks sitting there while Im trying to eat. Then theres the money thing.Unlike drinking, drugs, and gambling, smokers wont generally steal and borrow money to support thier habit, and unlike alcohol and drugs, smokers dont usually get physicaly violent when they dont have a smoke.People who gamble have been know to lose everything they own and more but while the states looking at taxing cigarettes again theyre in the process of putting a casino in 12 miles from my house.Drinking and gambling are considered publicly acceptable though and Ive never heard the state threatening to tax them to the point its impossible to do what they do. Im not arguing with you really, Im just saying smokers get discriminated against far more often then anyone else with a bad habit.And a few of these habits that are considered acceptable can be far more destructive to others than smoking is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax While you are right about smokers being discriminated against, I kind of have mixed thoughts about what you are saying about smokers in public. Sure a table full of drunks may not be a good thing, but they may have a dd, you never really know, and what they are putting in their body is not going in someone elses. Smoke that is put off second hand may have a direct or indirect effect on those other people in that establishment. While I dont condone drinking and driving, I can also see your point there and I understand that people are killed every day by idiots who think they are ok to drive who get behind the wheel. It is a very real very sad fact. Really in that respect there is not one better than the other, and the argument could arise that maybe we should not allow sales of alcohol or cigarettes either one, but you as well as I know that will never happen. Funy you mentioned about a person not getting violent, I have seen first hand how a smoker can and will get extremely agitiated to the point of near violence if they dont have their cigarettes. It is an addiction and some people dont handle it as well as others just like any other addiction. I remember a good discussion in here a few years back about a possible law think it was in GA. in regards to smoking in an vehicle with a child in the vehicle. The results of that discussion were pretty interesting. Do we need a law to make people use good sense? Is it fair to the kids whose parents either dont realize or maybe just dont care enough not to expose their kids? You know the idea of where to draw the line kind of seems like an infringement on the rights of those who smoke, while on the other hand it coud also be viewed an infringement on the rights of those who chose not to, because whether smokers like it or not when they light up in a public place their second hand smoke does effect others. In that we get back to the argument as to whose rights are more important. I am kind of biting my tongue in saying this, but I really dont think removal of rights for either is the answer honestly. Better education really seems to be the key. It would be great if people did use more sense and respected others enough not to smoke around places where non smokers are present, but unfortunately that does not normally happen either, unless there are some sort of rules or laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugshooter Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax Governor Easley in here in NC wants to raise the cigarette tax here by 50 cents, which, in North Carolina is a big deal since the state is mostly known for tobacco production. It has always been a hot bed issue and our cigarette prices have always been the lowest than elsewhere, I remember when I was driving a truck sometimes I would get stuck having to buy cigs up north and was amazed at the prices 35.00 and up for a carton when I can get one down here for 20.00-22.00. I see where huntinginmaine is coming from, if you raise the cigarette tax, some people will quit smoking, but there are a great many that won't, if cigarettes here reach the prices of northern states, you can count me out, I am in the process of cutting back anyways, I like the thought of the 60 - 70 bucks I spend on cigs every month going somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax a lot of people quit up here when they raised the prices! there are different brands and qualities of cigs you can get up here, the top brands like Player's and Du Maurier etc, are close to $70 a carton, i think! they are like $8.50-$9.25 a pack! and then there are cheaper ones that are around $7.50 a pack, then there are the native smokes you can get on the indian reserves, i think they are around $30-$35/carton. sure is a lot more than down in the states Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParrotHead Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax Just look at it this way folks. One of these days all smokers are going to quit and guess what......you're going to get severely violated (picture yourself in prison with a 400 pound cellmate named Leroy to incert your own description of violate) by your state, local and federal governments because they'll have to find other means in which to get your money from your wallet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax [ QUOTE ] I like the thought of the 60 - 70 bucks I spend on cigs every month going somewhere else. [/ QUOTE ] How can you afford that sluggo, thought because of Bush and the economy, things were so bad for you and here you say you are blowing away that much. Priorities??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slugshooter Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I like the thought of the 60 - 70 bucks I spend on cigs every month going somewhere else. [/ QUOTE ] How can you afford that sluggo, thought because of Bush and the economy, things were so bad for you and here you say you are blowing away that much. Priorities??? [/ QUOTE ] I wasn't borderline homeless there bud. I take care of myself with that I got. 60-70 bucks a month is a lot less than most people spend on smoking, especially around here and people who definitely can't afford it. While I still feel Bush's priorities lay with his oil buddies, why do the rich keep getting richer and getting to keep more of their money while the likes of you or I keep less and less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Re: Cigarette tax [ QUOTE ] why do the rich keep getting richer and getting to keep more of their money while the likes of you or I keep less and less. [/ QUOTE ] Bush has in fact given us more of our own money back. Through tax reliefs and increases in child tax credits. By the way sluggo, Bush's new proposal that was talked about last week seemed to be aimed at raising taxes on payrolls above $90,000. While that is still not rich, that is getting alot closer to it. So who is he really looking to tax? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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