everyone i know who smokes ciggs is poor.
the cig tax increase is going up around 150% .get ready dig out the vasaline.everyone is going to get the big government dick. like it or not.

Smokers face a hit as tobacco taxes spike

Cigarette tax to rise by 62 cents a pack beginning Wednesday to pay for children's health care

• Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press Writer
• Sunday March 29, 2009, 7:53 am EDT

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- However they satisfy their nicotine cravings, tobacco users are facing a big hit as the single largest federal tobacco tax increase ever takes effect Wednesday.

Tobacco companies and public health advocates, longtime foes in the nicotine battles, are trying to turn the situation to their advantage. The major cigarette makers raised prices a couple of weeks ago, partly to offset any drop in profits once the per-pack tax climbs from 39 cents to $1.01.
Medical groups see a tax increase right in the middle of a recession as a great incentive to help persuade smokers to quit.
Tobacco taxes are soaring to finance a major expansion of health insurance for children. President Barack Obama signed that health initiative soon after taking office.
Other tobacco products, from cigars to pipes and smokeless, will see similarly large tax increases, too. For example, the tax on chewing tobacco will go up from 19.5 cents per pound to 50 cents. The total expected to be raised over the 4 1/2 year-long health insurance expansion is nearly $33 billion.
Smokers are mulling their options.
Standing outside an office building in downtown Washington last week, 29-year-old Sam Sarkhosh puffed on a Marlboro Light. His 8-year-old daughter has been pleading with him to quit, he explained, and he has set a goal to give up smoking by his 30th birthday.
"I'm trying to quit smoking, and it could help," said Sarkhosh, an information systems specialist. "I don't think it will stop me from buying cigarettes every now and then, but definitely not as often." A friend who smokes Camels went out and bought four cartons in advance, he said.
The tax increase is only the first move in a recharged anti-smoking campaign. Congress also is considering legislation to empower the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. That could lead to reformulated cigarettes. Obama, who has agonized over his own cigarette habit, said he would sign such a bill.
Prospects for reducing the harm from smoking are better than they have been in years, said Dr. Timothy Gardner, president of the American Heart Association. The tax increase "is a terrific public health move by the federal government," he said. "Every time that the tax on tobacco goes up, the use of cigarettes goes down."
About one in five adults in the United States smokes cigarettes. That's a gradually dwindling share, though it isn't shrinking fast enough for public health advocates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cigarette smoking results in an estimated 443,000 premature deaths each year, and costs the economy $193 billion in health care expenses and lost time from work. Smoking is a major contributor to heart disease, cancer and lung disease.
Public health officials are urging individual doctors and staff at telephone "quit lines" in every state to make the most of the tax increase by reaching out to smokers. But it's unclear how deeply the tax will cut into tobacco consumption.
Eric Lindblom, research director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, says he expects a drop of at least 6 percent to 7 percent among young smokers.
Philip Gorham, who tracks the tobacco business for Morningstar, the investment research firm, said he expects an overall drop of 4 percent to 5 percent this year. What happens after that is less certain, especially as the economy recovers.
"I would expect a road bump this year," said Gorham. "But these companies will still be extremely profitable. I still think they will make their return on capital by wide margins in the long run."
Philip Morris USA, the largest tobacco company and maker of Marlboro, is forecasting a drop, but spokesman Bill Phelps said he cannot predict how big. Philip Morris raised Marlboro prices by 71 cents a pack early this month, and prices on smaller brands by 81 cents a pack. Other major companies followed suit.
The pricing moves raised eyebrows. "That's nothing more than greed," said Kevin Altman, an industry consultant who advises small tobacco companies. "They weren't required to charge that until April 1. They are just putting that into their pockets."
Responded Phelps: "We raised our prices in direct response to the federal excise tax increase, and people who are upset about that should find out how their member of Congress voted, and contact him or her."
Some policy analysts have questioned the wisdom of boosting tobacco taxes to finance health care for children. They argue that the fate of such a broad program should not depend on revenues derived from a minority of the adult population, many of whom have low incomes and are hooked on a habit. The tobacco industry is also warning that the steep increase will lead to tax evasion through old-fashioned smuggling or by Internet purchase from abroad.
But smoking control advocates such as Lindblom say tobacco taxes should be even higher. "There's a lot of room to go after cigars and smokeless," he said. "We are certainly hopeful that health care reform will include some more increases."
Standing outside a Washington department store, attorney Margaret Webster, 42, puffed on a Marlboro Ultra Light and lamented the fact that the government is reaching deeper into her pocketbook.
"I don't think we (smokers) like it," she said. "But I've heard so many people say they were going to quit when the price went up ... and they're still smoking."


just like the government.get you addicted to a drug( i can prove the US government promoted cig smoking in the 40s hardly anyone smoked cigs before then.)
then keep raising the tax's on the poor stupid fuckers that smoke.
to smoke cigs right now would cost probably around 300 a month.

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..

Yeah time to quit the nicotine! gonna be around $$7.00 avg here in michigan.. Sin taxes always been a way to generate taxes nothing new there. But yet to have seen a increase in booze or porn. go figure! Drunks Kill they should be the highest taxed of all sin taxes i do believe.

tax is theft by the government.
i dont mind paying for roads sewers and basic public service's.
we dont have that shit going on though.
the government steals money from one person to give it to another who didnt work for it..just a example.
all the federal programs the government runs are very wastefull and too expensive..why?
because of the corruption is why.
if the politicians do not line the pockets of their buddies...both partys. they do not get any kick back money.
suck as the million dollar speech's clinton and bush and reagan and who ever else runs around making after they leave office.those are nothing but political pay off's.
and you all thought obama was going to be any differnt?
look at all the money he is funneling to the banks and insurance companys.AIG was one of his largest donors.
alot of the government stimulas money is to go to union contractors..at prevailing wage scales. a pay off for the unions.
rahm emanual . a wall street insider who was a investment banker.who is a tax cheat by the way.
then we have timmy geithner.. another tax cheat and a former federal reserve president' it looks like the wall street bankers are going to be living on easy street as obama is funneling money by the trillions into their accounts.
is this the change you wanted? higher tax's accross the board for everyone obviosly is the order of the day and of course defficit spending of trillions upon trillions of dollars, consistant violations of the constitution by a bunch of obvios crooks.

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..

I've purchased my own tobacco for years now, $6.50 for enough to make about a carton or more, $1.25 for a box of tubes. $7.75 per carton. Must suck.

Purchased a nice machine that fills the tubes, a premier supermatic, paid about 30 or so online and it paid for itself after the first carton. I've had it now for about ten years and it broke once and they replaced the part under warranty for free.

Can't beat that. I'm sure the taxes on the tobacco I purchase will go up a tad bit, but nothing like you poor bastards.....

I havent purchased a pack in years, then again I dont want to pay about $6.75 for a pack at stores around here.

Anyways..... Simply put, dont like it? Dont smoke. Bad as hell for us anyways...... I just saved you ten pages of crying for nothing. Thank me later.


XOXOXO

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i dont smoke. its bad for you.that being said you have a right to smoke.
YOU POSTED SOME GREAT ADVICE for people to save money and most importantly avoid paying tax.
my issue with the whole thing is the government started the smoking addiction amongst the population durring ww2 the military used to give our military free cigs. matter of fact most of our c rations i think the called them then came with a small pack of cigs in them. it was either pal mal . lucky strikes i think.no filters of course.
as those guys went home from the war addicted to cigs and got everyone else smoking cigs.
the fuckers put a tax on it then started raising it every time they wanted to fuck someone.
they KNEW it was a drug and they knew they were getting people addicted to them.
where in the constitution does it says the US federal government has a right to put a tax on a cig ? oh.no where hu?
then why do they do it>? ..cause they can?i guess they can fuck over who ever they want cant they?

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..

aye, there are plenty of roll your own type sites out there that will ship the tobacco right to your door. anyone who dosent want to pay that much for smokes have plenty of realistic, and best of all legal alternatives.





Granted, if I had just been ignorant to the fact I probably would have quit by now. LOL

And yes, we have all come to expect this of our government. Anything less would be unfathomable.

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Long time smoker here...weed and cigs. What I don't understand is that if I'm trying to quit my perscription coverage won't pay for medication. But if I get lung cancer my health insurance will pay for my treatment. I know that the script cost in now minimal compared to what cigs cost. I guess it's just the point that if perscription coverage was better maybe medical coverage wouldn't be as costly when it comes to nicotine illness. I've heard that a nicotine addiction is comparable to a heroin addition. While I'm on a roll here....why is it that I can be subject to a drug test at my job so that I can work to help pay for welfare recipients and the collectors of the monthly checks and food stamps. The recipients of my hard earned money (which I have to try to stay clean for) can take the money and run off to buy whatever they want without a drug test????? So not fair....but what is? I've vented but I don't feel better.

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Jul

the solution is simple for a liberal..
all you have to do is get on welfare.

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..

good point.....just quit my job and suck off the goverment.... grow my own weed (which is now in progress)...and a free cell phone to boot.....free health care...no copays..... and whatever i want at the grocery store cause it's all FREE...just for stayin home eatin bon bons watch my big screen HD T.V. Sounds tempting but pride keeps me working to continue to support those that won't.

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Jul

if you want a high paying welfare job go to work for the federal government. they make more than the average worker for sure and do almost no work for it at all.
people on welfare have a better health insurance policy than me and my family do.
and we get to pay for it by working our ass's off and paying higher insurance premiums

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everything i print write or show on here is a complete and utter lie..i cant help myself i am a terminal liar..all of this shit is just fiction and made up for entertainment purposes ONLY..