I do not normally surf the lefty Blogs often, but when I do, I find gems like this:
Tobacco tax affects mentally ill
By Peggy O’Farrell • pofarrell@enquirer.com • April 12, 2009
In general, Robert Anthenelli is a fan of cigarette tax increases.
When Kentucky doubled its tobacco tax earlier this month, Anthenelli, director of the TriState Tobacco and Alcohol Research Center at the University of Cincinnati, praised the move, believing it would push some current smokers to quit and keep some youth from starting.
But the tax increases burden one group not usually high on anyone’s radar: The seriously mentally ill.
“These tax increases have unintended consequences, especially for the seriously mentally ill, people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder,” Anthenelli said. “They smoke at rates three to four times the general population, and they can ill-afford the tax increase. They’re mostly on fixed incomes.”
Anthenelli said that with their degree of addiction they’re going to be most adversely affected by these kinds of tax increases.
If you really want people to quit put the money in smoking cessation and improvement in quality of life for the poor. This is just an easy out tax because Obama decided to let Bush’s tax cut expire on its own. It is really cowardly. I really wouldn’t have voted if I had known he would do this.
via Open Left.
Hmmmmm… What about actually wanting to improve the health of the mentally ill, by forcing them to stop smoking by increasing the amount that they have to pay. Sooner of later, either they’ll hopefully figure it out or their caretakers would explain to them, that if they don’t quit they will go broke.
Besides all that, whatever happened to the liberal idea of the state controlling every aspect of everyone’s life. Could it be that there is dissension in the ranks of Hope and Change? Wow. Color me shocked! 😮
Besides that whole idea of improvement of quality of life; what the hell do they want, a fluffy pillow??!? Listen, I’ve been out of work since 2005, because in a time of desperation and because I thought it was a really cool idea at the time. I took advantage of the Liberal Democrats Social programs and you want to know what it did for me??!?! Nothing! That’s right, not a DAMNED THING! So, I sit here, and I blog, because there’s no fucking jobs around here, because of the Democrats stupid bullshit of taxing small business and because of the fucking housing crisis and Wall Street’s meltdown. So, don’t hand me no stupid fucking bullshit about improvement of the quality of life for some idiot fucking mental midget okay? ‘Cause I ain’t fucking buying it. I say, if they cannot afford to buy the damn smokes, let ’em quit cold turkey, LIKE I HAD TO, WHEN I RAN OUT OF MONEY!
Them liberals man, I’ll tell ya! 🙄 fucking leeches, all they are… Gimmie Gimmie Gimme and a fluffy pillow to boot! 😡
Update: (fixed rather stupid typo… gotta slow down a little and write stuff properly…. Yeeesh…)
I quit smoking in 1966 after reading the Surgeon General’s report where it stated that smokers were 700% more likely to get lung cancer than non-smokers. When I quit I was carrying 3 different brands of mentholized cigarettes, Alpines,Kools and Salems, as each tasted worse than the last. Smokes cost about $0.35 to $0.50 a pack then. So I must have saved a fortune, but it was spent along the way on other things.
At 74 I do not have lung cancer, but NHL & Prostate cancer.
I still think people should remain free to poison themselves at the least cost, but all should be responsible and pay for their own medical care.
The big danger of exorbitant taxes on tobacco will be the rise of smuggling, violence & criminal complaints, and thousands of smokers being jailed with the cannibis users for victimless crimes. Another level in the wrong war on drugs. Vile police state: What is prohibited is illegal, what is not prohibited is mandatory.
For 30 years I tried to get my parents to quit smoking.The addiction was too strong. My mother died of lung, uterine and bladder cancer. My father has one lung that bearly funcions. According to his doctors his condition is most likely responsible for the on set of alzheimers and his pending death. I guess it is impossible for me to have an objective view about tobacco. With all of the undeniable proof about how it affects smokers and the nonsmokers around them, how can anyone defend it in any way? If a new product with all of the same health hazzards were brought to the market it would never be allowed to be sold. So why hasn’t this one been taken off of market? The answer is simple “$”. Too many people are making money off of the slow death of people like my parents. I would not want to wish the pain that my family has suffered on anyone even those that are morally bankrupt and responsilble for the tobacco industry, but something needs to be done.
The thing that needs to be done, is for the Government to stop trying to run lives of the American people. if they’re that stupid to light a damn cigarette and die from cancer, that’s their business. The Government needs to to stop being in the business of running peoples lives.
Smoking is endemic in parts of my family. I have plenty of relatives that died of all kinds of things but never lung cancer. My brother was about the only one in the family who DIDN’T EVER smoke or drink or even cuss and he’s the one who was dead of cancer by 30 years age. I’m a smoker and there’s one thing I’m sure of: I’ll die of something or other. You will too. I’m sorry to break the news to you like that but my diagnosis is conclusive.
And what’s all this “something needs to be done” and “go ahead and raise taxes on the evil smokers” thing? On a conservative blog? A PALEOCONSERVATIVE BLOG? You believe in personal liberty but screw the smokers? Why? Because it’s unpleasant for you? What about your second hand auto exhaust? Think your car farts ice cream? How many playgrounds do you drive right past, coughing out carcinogens directly into kids lungs?
But no, that’s OK because YOU do it. It’s always the other guy ain’t it?
You point one finger of blame at someone else you got three more pointed back at yourself. Sanctimony is a look best reserved for liberals.
You obviously wouldn’t know snark, if it hit you in the face. if you’d bothered to read the third paragraph, you’d see my real feelings. 🙄