Cigarette Taxes In Chicago Up To $6.67 Per Pack

[Ausm]

Maximum power to the deflectors Captain.

Deflection? Hardly can you answer my question?

 

[ShawnD1]

Feds should just legalize pot, eliminate most of the black market for it, and tax the hell out of that. It'd sell as well or better than cigarettes, I'd bet.

I doubt it. Marijuana has not demonstrated strongly addictive properties, but tobacco has.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoamine_oxidase_inhibitor

Nicotine, a substance frequently implicated in tobacco addiction, has been shown to have "relatively weak" addictive properties when administered alone.[16] The addictive potential increases dramatically after co-administration of an MAOI, which specifically causes sensitization of the locomotor response in rats, a measure of addictive potential.[17][18] This may be reflected in the difficulty of smoking cessation, as tobacco contains naturally-occurring MAOI compounds in addition to the nicotine.[19][20][21]

What does an MAOI do? They make your brain light up like a christmas tree. MAOI drugs are given for every illness you can think of.
-atypical depression
-anxiety
-PTSD
-Parkinson's Disease
-panic disorder
-social phobia
-borderline personality disorder
-OCD
-neurotic depression
-hysteroid dysphoria

Tobacco is an amazing plant. People are willing to pay ridiculous prices and die 20 years sooner just to get its theraputic effects. It remains popular even though it's not advertised, it's hated by a large percentage of people, and it has disgusting pictures of rotting teeth on the package.

Since tobacco cannot be patented, it is not investigated for treating major illnesses, but it does seem to attract specific groups of people. For example, an overwhelming majority of people with schizophrenia self-medicate by chain smoking. There is also a strong link between bipolar disorder and smoking. Smoking is also linked to other mental disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD, Parkinson's Disease, panic disorder, and every other thing listed above.

There is also a significant correlation between the decline of smoking and the rise of depression in America. This is because studies indicate that nicotine is a powerful antidepressant. article.

 

[xj0hnx]

Why don't we put it up for a vote and let the majority decide if they want to increase the tax on smoking is that not what America was built on? I'm pretty sure I know what that outcome will be. Face it most people don't like smoking and this tax is something that most people would want.

No, America was not built on mob rule.

 

[ShawnD1]

No, America was not built on mob rule.

Not even the souf? 9 out of 10 people agree that black people should have no rights :biggrin:

4 out of 5 people agree that gang rape is enjoyable

 

[Thump553]

It's funny how people are all in favor of taxing stuff untill it comes time to tax something they use.

That's because we end up paying for a chunk of their healthcare expenses, SSI, etc. If smoking affected only smokers, and they were all 100% insured by their own funds, let them go at it I say. Under present real world conditions I say tax cigarettes to the maximum amount practical (you don't want to create a Prohibition type situation-like we have with pot now, for example).

 

[monovillage]

That's because we end up paying for a chunk of their healthcare expenses, SSI, etc. If smoking affected only smokers, and they were all 100% insured by their own funds, let them go at it I say. Under present real world conditions I say tax cigarettes to the maximum amount practical (you don't want to create a Prohibition type situation-like we have with pot now, for example).

We need to tax internet users $200 or $300 a month. Their sloth and inactivity cause us to pay higher health care costs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_addiction_disorder

 

[soundforbjt]

While we're at it, let's put a HEAVY tax on all alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol destroys lives, families, and kills people...not only the people who drink, but the victims of those who drink and drive.

Let's start with $100 per pint...

+1

 

[michal1980]

I want a nanny state.

removed all that huffing and puffing.

 

[BoberFett]

I'm down with this. The assholes downstairs in Apartment 303 smoke weed and cigarettes all the time. It is so bad that one of the residents in the building left a note on the front door that said "If you're going to smoke, please, put a towel underneath your door".

The towel doesn't help...because the smell is in the vents. Our living room has a strong weed and cigarette smell and I'm fucking annoyed.

/facepalm

 

[WelshBloke]

removed all that huffing and puffing.

You probably want to give up smoking there.

 

[Zorba]

I always find it funny that the people that are the most anti-tobacco and pro-heavy tax are the same people that are massively pro-weed.

My opinion, at this point either out right ban tobacco or leave the smokers alone. I really don't have a problem with laws to keep smokers from affecting non-smokers, like no smoking in restaurants. But all of the punitive bullshit is stupid and unfair. It is unfair because it isn't applied to any other damaging activity, just we as a society have decided it is okay to treat smokers differently than say non-smoking drinkers.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

:hmm: why don't we see dmcowen674 over in D-C

 

[piasabird]

You have to be ignorant to smoke.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

We've known about the adverse effects of watching tv for 50 years, it's an open and shut case. We've known about the adverse effects of eating meat for 50 years, it's an open and shut case. We've known about the adverse effects of unprotected sex for thousands of years, it's an open and shut case. We've known about the adverse effects of drinking sugary drinks for decades..... and on and on and on.

The whole point of freedom is that people make the choices (good or bad) for themselves, as long as they are not infringing on someone else's rights. I for one don't think it makes sense to have the government make choices as to what is good and what isn't, and then creating taxes to punish behavior it doesn't like. That concept flies in the face of freedom.

Exactly. Smoking is disgusting, but it's none of the government's business.


You know... Unless they handle healthcare.

Then all the sudden this is all legitimately the government's problem



You liberals got exactly what you wanted, so I don't know why you make threads bitching about what is 100% your fault for supporting the dear leader.

 

[Mursilis]

I love this line of thinking by short-sighted non-economists. This is the same argument used in previous tax increases, and what happens? Spending is increased based on the expectation of new revenues, but then people quit or buy their smokes out of state/black market, and less revenue ends up coming in than expected. So, where do they make up the difference? Well, from everybody else, of course.

I've read (can't find the source right now, sorry) that smokers save the gov't Social Security money, because they live long enough to pay into the system for a good while, but then die before collecting much, if any, benefits. That was certainly the case in my family - my father paid in for 30+ years, and died at age 60 before collecting a dime of SS benefits. Less smokers could mean SS going broke sooner.

 

[dmcowen674]

:hmm: why don't we see dmcowen674 over in D-C

Checked in the old D-C Farts thread

 

[berzerker60]

The rhetoric here is crazy. Vice taxes are nothing new, and they're a huge leap from a ban on smoking like some posters seem to think this equates to. We can make cigarettes very cheaply, but does that mean that there's some absolute reason society should keep them cheap if they create problems? For economic reasons, America could entirely stop smoking with no real problem, the huge majority of tobacco sales are abroad. People still get to smoke if they want to, but why do they have a "right" to smoke at a certain price point? It's entirely arbitrary, so set a tax that sets it at a point that fits rational policy. Is it a cruel violation of smokers' rights when the companies sell the cigarettes at profitable prices, rather than at-cost? Why do they have some moral ability to set the price of a pack and government doesn't?

 

[OverVolt]

The rhetoric here is crazy. Vice taxes are nothing new, and they're a huge leap from a ban on smoking like some posters seem to think this equates to. We can make cigarettes very cheaply, but does that mean that there's some absolute reason society should keep them cheap if they create problems? For economic reasons, America could entirely stop smoking with no real problem, the huge majority of tobacco sales are abroad. People still get to smoke if they want to, but why do they have a "right" to smoke at a certain price point? It's entirely arbitrary, so set a tax that sets it at a point that fits rational policy. Is it a cruel violation of smokers' rights when the companies sell the cigarettes at profitable prices, rather than at-cost? Why do they have some moral ability to set the price of a pack and government doesn't?

These days since when did economics matter?

Medicare is filled with fluff like the government not being able to negotiate prices like private health insurance can, and so medicare typically gets overcharged.

And like that other guys story, smoker at 30 and died at 60 without collecting SS but paid into it his whole life. Who is to say they really know whats best? This aging population baby boomer crap seems to be doing a good job killing the economy all by itself.

Its always in these ultra-liberal places like Chicago, Detroit, etc that raise cigarette taxes. Guess what? No one buys Cigarettes in Chicago anyway I bet. It's mostly a desperate attempt to fix Chicago's budget, which I'm sure they repeatedly run deficits because of all the liberal nanny state laws they enforce which costs them money and nets no real economic return.

Whats the economic return on all their gun control you reckon? Since it is a crime filled cesspool it certainly isn't in giving them a good return in city image and tourism.

Chicago is hands down going to be the next Detroit, North Philly, etc. Because they act exactly the same.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

2-28-2013

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/02...6-67-per-pack-tomorrow-after-county-tax-hike/

Cigarette Taxes In Chicago Up To $6.67 Per Pack Tomorrow, After County Tax Hike


WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reports a pack of cigarettes in Chicago will set smokers back $6.67 in taxes alone starting Friday, thanks to a $1-per-pack hike in the county’s cigarette tax.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the projected $25 million in new annual revenue from the tax increase will go to the county’s hospitals and health centers, which treat more than 300 lung cancer patients each year.

To anyone thinking about buying cigarettes without tax stamps, Preckwinkle pointed out the county has tripled the amount of tobacco inspectors it employs.


The county raids hundreds of businesses each month due to illegal sales of cigarettes that do not bear the required tax stamps.

Nice, I guess they can continue to raise the tax higher and give the criminal elements and users of tobacco products in society more incentives to seek non-"legal" avenues to distribute and attain cigarettes on the black market which is created by heavy handed government intervention.

 

[Dulanic]

Wahhhh Wahhhhh Wahhhh. GOOD. I am an ex smoker, and the only reason I quit was because it hit $8 a pack here in MA. I am grateful.

 

[waggy]

Wahhhh Wahhhhh Wahhhh. GOOD. I am an ex smoker, and the only reason I quit was because it hit $8 a pack here in MA. I am grateful.

$8 a pack!? wow.

glad i never took up smoking damn.