But I am against the whole program..any time government tells me they are gonna “do it for the kids” it means that the government is getting ready to stick it to you again. This is just another step towards a complete socialized medicine program.

Past that, they need to leave the rest of it alone, but cigarettes are a scourge on humanity, the Indians way of getting even, tobacco…

Yuck pooey… Tobacco is BAD… Yuck, nasty, bad…

All they do is find some loopholes to tax us out the wazoo now??!!
Sin Tax, Food Tax, Road Tax, Toll Road Tax.
What next, Bra Tax for women overly endowed, Condom Tax for “Players,” Bon Appetite Tax for Gourmet Cooks who pollute the environment with Olive Oil they put into the cities garbage dumps, Makeup tax for women or men who are overly concerned with their appearance and it disrupts the migrating habits of some freaking warbler in the Hill country and their nesting regimen???!!!

As the others ahead of me mentioned, the taxes collected aren’t going to where they are earmarked.
They will add more taxes, unfettered, and still… we will be paying for the uninsured or illegals… or even, as you know, for the extremely rich that try to bilk the Parkland Hospital to cover their surgical/medical expenses when they have more money than you and I and all your readers have combined.
They recently busted a man who owned 9 Subway chain shops to the tune of what?? $60,000 when they discovered he falsified his address to get free treatment at Parkland and he paid them in cash?!
So yes, lets tax the shit out of everyone to pay for whatever comes out the politicians hind end, irregardless of what it costs everyone eventually.
$10.00 a pack for cigs, how about that same amount for gas to cover roads and bridges that will still fall down or won’t be built or maintained.
How about that amount for carbohydrates that contribute to massive obesity and diabetes and cost us hundreds of millions…tax bread and pasta okay? Lets tax Frito Lay while we are at it.
Obesity contributes more to health related problems than cigs or alcohol ever have, read the latest reports from JAMA or the Surgeon General.
Then TAX THE SHIT OUT OF THEM….ROFL.
‘Nuff said

Tax the shit out of them and make ALL the money you can…

Everyone has presented a great argument here, but IMO, tax the bastards out of America…

Just my .02 worth, if ya wanna smoke, smoke til ya fall out, it’s YOUR life, but I don’t want to have to pay for all the health care of the uninsured…

I oppose the concept of heavily taxing unpopular things and behavior. We shouldn’t over-tax tobacco, alcohol, fat foods, gasoline, etc., in order to produce someone’s idea of better behavior.

If cigarettes, chewing tobacco and snuff are so dangerous, then declare them illegal, like drugs.

I still can’t get behind the government adding to the tax rolls. I especially have a problem with a feel good measure that robs the tax payer. I blogged on this very point yesterday after hearing the radio addresses. If our government can’t do its basic mandates they have no business doing anything else.

Tell them to stop the larceny and sob stories and do the business of the people.

The first thing that will be built with the tax increases will be bureaucracy. Out of the taxes, only a small percentage will go to people who they are meant for. The majority will go for salaries, infrastructure, etc. That said, just say people did quit smoking by the thousands. We know the government wouldn’t do away with the programs and bureaucracy created by the tax increase so where is the money going to come from? They’re just going to increase taxes in other areas to cover the losses from the revenues that were generated by former smokers. The government doesn’t want anyone to stop smoking. Matter-of-fact, the more people that smoke, the more they get in tax monies.

Look at this example. We pay gasoline taxes to fund highway and bridge construction. Feds give the states money for highways and bridges. States elect to spend money on other things and eventually bridge falls into river, killing people. Now, Democrats want to increase gas taxes by another 50 cents to fund bridge repairs. Same thing with New Orleans levies. No matter what they collect the tax money for, it never gets to where it’s suppose to.