Be glad you don't smoke

[Sar]

I wanted to add to your point about the poor and limited income folks.
For many years now, people on food stamps have offered 50 cents to every 1 dollar of food stamps. That's how "many" of the poor buy their smokes. (and other things of course like underwear or shoes)
The value offered can be even greater depending on how bad the person wants tobacco. I have been offered so many deals over the years in grocery store parking lots. Screaming deals like 25 dollars for 1 hundred in food stamps. (No-I didn't do it)
A lot of the folks on food stamps have kids.(going hungry)
Like you say it hurts the poor the worst and the kids that need to be ""protected from cigarettes"" are going hungry so the mom and or dad have a smoke.
The fault of the Government tax is that the tax exceeds the value of the retail product many times over. That to me should be criminal. That's worse than a loan shark.
The people elected to manage the government and protect our country have been able to get in there and pass (unrealistic) tax increases on ONE group of people to pay for special interest projects unrelated to tobacco while creating more of a deficit that won't become managable.
...

Completely agree. What the government is doing is immoral. They should be protecting people from being robbed, instead they are profiting themselves from people's addictions.

But there is always cause and effect. By hiking tobacco taxes, you increase crime. Because of the high taxes, counterfeit cigarette manufacturing and smuggling is growing fast and organized crime is getting into that action big time because profits from tobacco now rival profits from narcotics.

There is rather interesting article that describes this in detail. Two guys visit a struggling tobacco farmer and offer to buy his entire crop, for cash. The farmer could lose his license so he refuses... Great read:

Tobacco Underground | Articles - Canada’s Boom in Smuggled Cigarettes

Years ago in New York City drug dealers were much more visible and used to call/chant "smoke.. smoke... smoke..." to get buyers -- and they didn't mean "cigarettes". These days they may actually make more money on cigerattes.

 

[smokinsimon]

Now, I'm not trying to pigeonhole anyone, but the demographics of smokers is typically lower income, lower level of education.

Lower level education, and lower income, so basically high school grads, and working class..The backbone of the country..Good honest hard working people.

 

[zero7starz]

Its not just taxes that they're implementing on smokers thats causing them harm. Read FSC, anyone? I never would have wanted to quit if that junk wasn't being forced down my throat. It kills me that the government is allowing such groups to discriminate against us. And, I for the most part don't feel like being quiet anymore but I don't have a loud direction yet. (Whether to actively protest for smokers rights, or to campaign and advertise the switch to vaping.) Either way, its a sad time to be a smoker.

 

[smokinsimon]

FSC being pushed in my state is exactly what sent me looking for alternatives.