We hope smokers quit

Oliver Wallen (3/26, Letters, “The soaring price of smoking”) implies that we nonsmokers will be hurt financially by his and others’ quitting smoking. We’ll have to pay more taxes to make up for the tobacco taxes the smokers and tobacco companies will no longer be paying.

What he does not know is that we’ll be more than happy to pay those additional taxes because they will be easily offset by the health-care dollars that those same smokers will no longer be taking from us because of their super-expensive use of health-care facilities.

Insurance is already too expensive. Why should we continue to subsidize the smokers’ extravagant waste of precious health-care resources?

John Belmont
Merriam

Oliver Wallen threatens that the increased taxes on cigarettes will cause smokers to quit smoking. The “downside” to that is that all these new former smokers will live healthier, longer lives, they’ll have much more money in their pockets, they’ll no longer walk around smelling like ashtrays and they’ll cause less of a strain on the U.S. health-care system.

And the problem with that is?

Barry Kaplan
Overland Park

Comments

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

If they are going to regualte consumers, let's start by testing TANF and foodstamp recipients that are not disabled or retired, for tobacco use.
If they can afford cigarettes then they can affod to pay their own bills rather than steal from those of us that work and or children.

[Engineer]

Renfro brings up a point that "Big Tobacco" claimed they could prove during the Attorney Generals' trial against them. The judge in the case would not allow them to present their evidence. His reasoning, which I could not follow, was that the information was not pertinent to the case at hand.

[solomon]

BuddyT,

How much is a Big Mac with the employee discount?

[renfro]

The premature deaths of ailing smokers with early health problems will probably cost society less than Belmont and Kaplan’s catheters and bedpans in an“old folks” home for 120-year-old non-smokers.

[Gary]

Raising taxes on cigarettes will encourage two responses: quitting, and smuggling. Neither response will help pay for pie in the sky programs which assume that the rate of smoking will remain constant after the tax is imposed.

[Gary]

Raising taxes on cigarettes will encourage two response: quitting, and smuggling. Neither response will help pay for pie in the sky programs which assume that the rate of smoking will remain constant after the tax is imposed.

[Kee]

Hell yes rape, murder, pillage, and steal but by golly you had better not be smoking those nasty ciggie poos!

Let's see, next is red meat, transfates, beer, etc. etc.

Excuse me now, I am going to Miceky D's, get a Big Mac, wash it down with a couple of Sam Adams, and then fire up my stogie! God Bless America, for as long it will last....

[Marctnts]

"And the problem with that is?"

...that it's not the government's right or responsibility to protect people from themselves or impose obviously discriminatory taxes advocated by the 51% to make sure that everyone else "tows their line".

Mr. Belmont asks why those with insurance should continue to pay for those that "waste" health care resources. I would ask him that if that is his concern, where is his outrage over cheeseburgers, fast food, and those who don't exercise enough? Obesity-related illness has surpassed smoking related illness in terms of cost and mortality, yet we see none of the righteous indignation. I guess I found the next "cause de jour" once smoking is eliminated.