Former U.S. surgeons general have plan to cut smoking ($2/pack tax)

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/02/03/financial1540EST0208.DTL
Former U.S. surgeons general have plan to cut smoking

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Four former surgeons general on Tuesday unveiled a plan to reduce smoking that included a $2-per-pack tax they predicted would prompt at least 5 million smokers to quit.

They also called for a nationwide counseling and support line for smokers trying to quit, an idea that immediately was put into practice by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

... The 10-point plan endorsed by the former surgeons general and other health advocates seeks additional tobacco research, better doctor training and an extensive media campaign explaining the dangers of smoking.

It also urges that the cigarette excise tax be raised from the current 39 cents to $2.39, of which 50 percent of the proceeds -- or $14 billion -- would go toward paying for the various aspects of the plan.

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[denverbill]

1. Tax poor smokers. Cut taxes for rich tobacco company execs.

Makes sense to me. And is the US govt still subsidizing tobacco growers?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. Great. They're going to open another black market venue.

Jeez, it's going to be cheaper to buy marijuana.

And wow! They're going to open a toll free talk line! that'll really cut the cravings. It would take free Xanax and Valium to pry my tobacco out of my cold dead nicotine stained fingers. :evilgrin:

[jus_the_facts]

3. I hear ya....

:smoke:

[Mari333]

4. Ever seen Tommy Thompson???????????????

anyone gonna tax his bulky ass for eating wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much and driving up my insurance bills because he refuses to stop porking out on junk food ?
Another tax, just for gods sake dont tax the FOOD this guy consumes that contributes to HIS fucking heart disease.
Blackmarket indeed.
Time to roll yer own like they used to do.

[Gman]

5. Neither Federal or State governments want to stop smoking

because they make too much in taxes on cigarretes. I think this is more a way to raise more tax money because Iraq is sucking money faster than a brand new Oreck or a $2 whor... well, you know what I mean.

Somebody draw the supply and demand curves for these guys with prices at $2 more.

[demdave]

6. Gutless, make tobacco illegal or leave it alone.

I am sick of the government and anti-tobacco group holding up their hands and professing to "stand up" aainst tobaccoat the same time they are holding their hands out and taking money from taxes and tobacco donated anti-tobacco campaigns.

If it is so poisonous and deadly, it is their duty to make it illegal.

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. From a health point of view, tobacco should be illegal, and POT legal

.
.

prove me wrong :shrug:

[demdave]

9. From a health point of view, inhaling smoke is bad for your lungs.

PERIOD!

[Beaker]

10. Period! my ass- moderation is the keyword.

one of the added problems with tobacco is that nicotine is a vascular constrictor, making it all the more difficult to breathe and deliver oxygen to the blood...whereas pot is a bronchial dilator, and in some cases- asthmatics for instance, smoking pot thru a water filter(bong) can actually make it easier for them to breathe.

In my own case, my ribs are fused at the spine, making it impossible for my lungs to expand completely...and when I have a cold especially, I have a lot of difficulty taking full breaths, and I have found that taking a few hits helps me breathe a helluva lot easier.

[Skittles]

11. please forgive my nosiness, Beaker

may I ask, is that a birth defect or perhaps the result of an accident? I know ribs are connected to the spine but what do you mean by fused?

[Malva Zebrina]

7. Almost a year since I quit smoking

and smoked more than two packs a day.

I have a neighbor who is eighty two, wealthy, and who still smokes. and also another neighbor who is seventy two and who smokes yet.

I have decided that when I get to be eighty years old, I will resume smoking cigarettes. It is a pyschological incentive. If one thinks something like this final, then it is harder. If there is an option left open , it seems easier. After a year, I would still love to light up a cigarette--especially after dinner.