kat8585 Posted March 14, 2009 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 1,360 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 7,866 Content Per Day: 1.24 Reputation: 26 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/22/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/18/1946 Share Posted March 14, 2009 My friend in MS says the cigarette tax went up there, and also the Federal tax went up in the new SChip law. So the price of cigarettes there is now high enough that he is quitting. My question is, I know they are going up in Texas because of the Federal tax, but is the state tax going up on them also? Any of you Texans know? I couldn't find anything online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LadyC Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 all i know is this.... in nevada, the price of a carton of smokes just went up another $7 in taxes. i've heard nothing on the news or anywhere else about alcohol taxes going up. LAST time they had a sin tax hike, they raised alcohol taxes a nickle per 12-pack, $4 per carton of smokes. now, do the math for the current and last tax hike combined.... someone please do the math because i'm terrible at numbers, but i believe that comes to less than 1/2 a cent per beer, compared to over $1/pack. (or to get really picky, 11 cents per cigarette.) which one is responsible for more deaths? alcohol. which one kills more people directly AND indirectly? alcohol. which one kills faster? alcohol. which one destroys more families? alcohol. which one can be directly linked to crime rates? alcohol. which one is a factor in domestic violence cases? alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneLight Posted March 14, 2009 Group: Royal Member Followers: 22 Topic Count: 1,294 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 31,762 Content Per Day: 5.23 Reputation: 9,762 Days Won: 115 Joined: 09/14/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted March 14, 2009 But you didn't ask the right question, Lady ... which do people "enjoy" more? The answer doesn't change ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeilanS Posted March 14, 2009 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 158 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1,763 Content Per Day: 0.27 Reputation: 7 Days Won: 0 Joined: 07/14/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/23/1990 Share Posted March 14, 2009 all i know is this.... in nevada, the price of a carton of smokes just went up another $7 in taxes. i've heard nothing on the news or anywhere else about alcohol taxes going up. LAST time they had a sin tax hike, they raised alcohol taxes a nickle per 12-pack, $4 per carton of smokes. now, do the math for the current and last tax hike combined.... someone please do the math because i'm terrible at numbers, but i believe that comes to less than 1/2 a cent per beer, compared to over $1/pack. (or to get really picky, 11 cents per cigarette.) which one is responsible for more deaths? alcohol. which one kills more people directly AND indirectly? alcohol. which one kills faster? alcohol. which one destroys more families? alcohol. which one can be directly linked to crime rates? alcohol. which one is a factor in domestic violence cases? alcohol. I'm not so sure about this. Alcohol is certainly a problem, but cigarettes are almost guaranteed to kill you at some point and they are far more addictive. You can drink responsibly but you really can't smoke responsibly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LadyC Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I'm not so sure about this. Alcohol is certainly a problem, but cigarettes are almost guaranteed to kill you at some point and they are far more addictive. You can drink responsibly but you really can't smoke responsibly. be sure. cigarettes may or may not kill you at some point. there is no "almost guarantee" of it. yes, it kills many, i'm not denying that, but more smokers are killed by other means than by cigarettes, and even those who do die because of smoking, it is rarely (maybe never) the only cause... just a contributing factor. and it's certainly a slow death. alcohol, on the other hand, is directly related to untimely deaths... sure, you can drink responsibly, but look at the number of drunk driving accidents that result in someone's death every single day... not to mention the people who die of alochol related illnesses or alcohol poisoning. and again, this isn't just about the death toll, but the crime rate. bar brawls, wife beating, child abuse... even sex crimes.... alcohol suppresses your inhibitions and makes you feel invincible, which frequently results in people doing things they wouldn't do if they weren't drunk. so which, overall, is the bigger threat to society? it certainly isn't the one that keeps getting taxed the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Believer1997 Posted March 14, 2009 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 66 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 6,363 Content Per Day: 1.13 Reputation: 119 Days Won: 9 Joined: 11/07/2008 Status: Offline Share Posted March 14, 2009 Our area heavily taxes cigarettes and alcohol - it's seen as a type of "user" tax. I can imagine that any statistician who does a detailed study on the costs to the average non-smoking, non-drinking taxpayer who must contribute to the care of people who use cigarettes, alcohol and drugs will quickly determine that the taxes to pay for health care, rehabilitation, etc. should actually be higher on these items than what they are currently. Everyone's health insurance premiums go up every year in part due to people who have poor lifestyle habits such as smoking and drinking. Living in a state that is a tobacco state, the local cigarette corporations and producers have to pay a lot towards the public programs to address health issues of smokers without insurance. I don't know if other states can get any financial help to address the healthcare drain that occurs when public health facilities have to take care of smoking and alcohol related health problems. Smoking and drinking costs a LOT more than just the price tag on the package - it's almost incalculable. I smoked and I quit many years ago with the help of God. Only His intervention and strength helped me to 'kick the habit'. I've also experienced the heartache of a close relative who died of health related issues from years of breathing second hand smoke from her husband. So actually, if the cost of a pack of cigarettes goes to $50 a pack - it will benefit all of us... even the smoker who quits because they can't afford it any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LadyC Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 i always wonder about those cigarette related healthcare costs. i've been smoking (pretty heavily) for 30 years, and i'm one of the healthiest people i know. in the last ten years, i've had to see a doctor twice... once for strep throat, once for carpal tunnel. my husband has been smoking about as long as i have. when we were in texas, he had chronic bronchitus and was sick a lot... but since moving to the dessert nearly nine years ago, he's had bronchitus only one time, and has had no other health problems besides needing back surgery. of all the smokers i know, most are in excellent health. i do know many, many smokers who have health problems such as emphysema and lung cancer, but none are under the age of 60, and almost all of them are over the age of 75. and second hand smoke is often a contributing factor, never a sole cause, of a non-smoker's health problems. i'm not saying cigarettes are a healthy habit... what i am saying is that they are disproportionately taxed compared to the more socially acceptable and less politically incorrect alcoholic beverage tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kat8585 Posted March 14, 2009 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 1,360 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 7,866 Content Per Day: 1.24 Reputation: 26 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/22/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/18/1946 Author Share Posted March 14, 2009 I agree that alcohol needs to be taxed more, too. I don't believe these small tax increases will deter the users, tho. My daughter has smoked for 32 years, since she was 15, and about 5 or 6 years ago was told she has the beginnings of emphysema, but it didn't stop her. She wants to quit, but can't seem to. She definitely can't afford it. Cigarettes went up $1 a pack to about $5 here a while back, and she just absorbed the cost. Then she found an off brand that only cost $3. What needs to happen is for cigarettes to go up to like $10 a pack. Then people would quit. My friend in MS knows a lady who quit smoking years ago, and just recently had to start some kind of oxygen treatments due to the damage done while she smoked. I believe smoking does contribute to higher health care costs. BTW, I used to smoke. I quit 35 years ago, so I sympathize with anyone trying to quit. The best route is to not take the first drink or cigarette. You don't know if you are an alcoholic til you do, but once you do, it's too late. Same with cigs. After you smoke a few, it's too late. You're hooked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunterpoet Posted March 14, 2009 Group: Removed from Forums for Breaking Terms of Service Followers: 0 Topic Count: 128 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,704 Content Per Day: 0.44 Reputation: 25 Days Won: 1 Joined: 05/29/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/08/1950 Share Posted March 14, 2009 In the great state of Ohio, cigarettes went up .74 cents a pack this week and will increase another dollar on April 1st....That means a pack of smokes will cost anywhere between $5.60 to $7.00 a pack, depending on where you shop. A 1lb. bag of tobacco now costs $16.00. On April 1st. it will cost $46.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fudgical Posted March 14, 2009 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 31 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 442 Content Per Day: 0.08 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/08/2009 Status: Offline Share Posted March 14, 2009 (edited) *has no idea what all the dollars mean...* do you have any no-smoking laws over there? and tax is something like 77% here... Edited March 14, 2009 by fudgical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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