Cigarette Tax Hike Among 65 New Laws (FL) & electronic tracking system for prescription drugs

[The Straight Story]

Cigarette Tax Hike Among 65 New Laws
Smokers To Pay $1 More Per Pack


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Smokers will pay an additional $1 tax on a pack of cigarettes under one of 65 new state laws going into effect Wednesday, including a $66.5 billion budget.

Some of the others establish an electronic tracking system to reduce the illicit sale and abuse of prescriptions drugs, require felony suspects to provide DNA samples even if not convicted, limit lawyer fees in workers' compensation cases and allow state universities to put up columbariums for the ashes of deceased alumni.

Florida's previous 34-cents-a-pack cigarette tax was among the nation's lowest. It's going up to $1.34 through what's called a "surcharge" in the Protecting Florida's Health Act. The law also increases a 25 percent tax on the wholesale price of other tobacco products except for cigars, which are exempt, to 60 percent.

That's on top of higher federal tobacco taxes consumers began paying April 1. Cigarettes went up by 62 cents a pack, bringing the federal tax to $1.01. The federal tax also increased from 5 to 40 cents on large cigars and a bit less for smaller ones.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/19901603/detail.html

[ixion]

1. what a crock of sh*t

the same folks that gleefully pass no smoking ordinances are more than happy to extort money from smokers. It makes me :puke:

[lib2DaBone]

2. "Roll your Own".....becoming all the rage

I read an article today where farmers in the tobacco states are selling 5 lb. bundles of dried, cured tobacco at farmers markets.

You can pick your blend and your favorite tobaccos and make a mighty fine smoke. You can roll a LOT of smokes from 5 lbs of tabacco.

There are rolling machines that even insert filter tips and you can roll a few hundred cigarettes in a short time.

BTW.. American mass-produced cigarettes are full of chemicals and additives designed to keep the cigareete burning , even if you put it in the ash tray. i.e. They want you to put the cigarette down and keep lighting more.. typical american marketing. Its these chemical additives and the crap that Big Corps put in the cigarettes that cause cancer... imho

I don't smoke.. but I always wondered why the American Indians didnt die of cancer? They were always smoking home grown tobacco in their pipes? Something to think about...

Roll your own.. F_ _ K the tax man!

[The Straight Story]

3. Uh, they raised the price (SCHIP Tax on the poor) on RYO was $17 a bag now like $60 for same bag

1lb bag. Bought an 8oz on the other day, makes a carton, was $26.

Obama closed the loophole for poor folks. Maybe they will close some loopholes on the rich next.

[hayu_lol]

4. Another state has a exemption for cigars...

Most people don't smoke cigars. CEOs and the like smoke them a lot. Gotta protect all those important people.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

8. There are some "pipe" tobaccos that work very well in injector machines. Even at close to

$60 a pound, myo tobacco is cheap compared to the price of cigarettes here in NY. A pound yields about 2 1/2 cartons of cigarettes.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

7. The Feds jacked up the rates on that too

[blogslut]

5. That comes close to Texas' rate

n/t

[Mari333]

6. SCHIP pissed me off so much I quit smoking

thats all it took. now, I will probably live 10 extra years and suck Social Security's teat for more money. Go after the poor people, leave that top 1 percent alone, as usual.