I was just at the store where the worker told me cigarettes are going up to $14.00 a pack next week. So I googled it and found this:
President Barak Obama signed the Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, providing a major expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to provide health insurance to moderate-income families and illegal aliens.
This government handout is funded with an increased federal tobacco tax.
http://www.smokersnews.com/cigarette-taxes/294/obama-signs-federal-cigarette-tax-hike/
- Increase U.S. Federal Tax on a pack of cigarettes from $0.39 to $1.01 per pack
- Increase Federal tax on pipe tobacco from $1.0969 per pound to $2.83 per pound
- Increase Federal tax on RYO tobacco from $1.0969 per pound to $24.78 per pound
- Increase Federal tax on cigarette papers (50 or less) from $0.0122 to $0.0315
- Federal tax on cigarette tubes (50 or less) = $0.0244 - New rate is $0.0630
My Tops tobacco will go up almost $25. an lb. It doesn't matter that I don't go anywhere or blow my toxic smoke on anyone else. I live alone in a tent. I don't go to the bar (or the church either). I went as far away from civilization as I could to get away from the communitarians and their pointy fingers. There's just no escape if I stay in the U.S. No matter what I accomplish here or how I live I'm just a bad little communitarian girl for still smoking. I'm sure glad my government knows what's best for me and will punish me until I do the right thing. What a relief to know my poverty level doesn't mean I shouldn't be forced to pay health insurance benefits for people who make more than me or who aren't even citizens. What's more important than my selfish ignorant assumption that I'm an adult making adult choices? Why the "common good," of course!
Lots of people suggest we just make tobacco illegal. What good little communitarians they are.
Lots of people suggest we just make tobacco illegal. What good little communitarians they are.
You can also thank Don Young for voting Yes on this and I THINK Lisa joined him
ReplyDeleteSo who will continue to pay that amount for cigs? When will people start growing their own? As my grandmother's uncle did. And then how long before the govt. sends cops and troops to people's property to arrest them for growing tobacco? And then how long before the cops/troops start executing people for growing their own tobacco? We are living Orwell's nightmare novel.
ReplyDeleteIt all comes back to the UN's World Health Organization. EVERYTHING comes back to the all "benevolent" global body.
ReplyDeleteHere is another link you might want to check out...
United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
The United States signed on to the Convention on Tobacco Control in 2004, but it has yet to ratify it. However, that doesn't stop them from implementing it as we've seen with the Kyoto protocol.
They never ratified Kyoto either, but they have been implementing it through various means (i.e. city councils, mayors, state laws, etc., all via federal handouts).
Part III of the Tobacco treaty is titled, "MEASURES RELATING TO THE REDUCTION OF DEMAND FOR TOBACCO".
Under that heading, Article 6 deals with "Price and tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco." Quoting from that article it says, "The Parties recognize that price and tax measures are an effective and important means of reducing tobacco consumption by various segments of the population, in particular young persons." It goes on to say, "...each Party should take account of its national health objectives concerning tobacco control and adopt or maintain, as appropriate, measures which may include: (a) implementing tax policies and, where appropriate, price policies, on tobacco products so as to contribute to the health objectives aimed at reducing tobacco consumption; and (b) prohibiting or restricting, as appropriate, sales to and/or importations by international travelers of tax- and duty-free tobacco products."
Article 6 concludes with, "The Parties shall provide rates of taxation for tobacco products and trends in tobacco consumption in their periodic reports to the Conference of the Parties, in accordance with Article 21."
Full text of the treaty can be found here (pdf format).