Welcome to Tax Saving Guide
Reasons Why Higher Taxes On Tobacco Would Not Reduce Smoking Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
The Most Important Reasons Why Higher Taxes on Tobacco Would Not Reduce Smoking
from:It’s an age old debate; there are thousands of people who say that if tobacco use were cost prohibitive, fewer people would smoke and chew tobacco. And this reason has been used many times to try and raise tobacco taxes. The premise here is that higher taxes would not only help the government raise revenue, but would also reduce tobacco use. However, this argument really seems to miss the mark. Following are the most important reasons why higher taxes on tobacco would not reduce smoking:
• Smoking is an addiction. Many people who smoke or chew tobacco truly wish they did not. The higher taxes would annoy these people and for some these taxes would create a financial problem, but they would not make people quit smoking. If it were that easy to quit smoking, far fewer people would smoke. So, the financial burden might be hard for some smokers to bear, but it wouldn’t change the fact that they’re addicted to nicotine.
• Another of the important reasons why higher taxes on tobacco would not reduce smoking is that raising taxes on tobacco simply increases bootlegging and illegal sales. The truth is that most smokers who truly cannot afford the new higher prices of the cigarettes will simply find illegal dealers who will sell them their cigarettes tax free. Not only does this notion offer one of the most powerful reasons why higher taxes on tobacco would not reduce smoking, but it creates some significant worries for parents. One of the groups most financially impacted by the higher cigarette taxes are teens, since they typically have less money. And, while we don’t want to encourage our kids to smoke, we also don’t want to encourage them to buy items from illegal street dealers that might be selling other items besides just cigarettes.
• Another of the many reasons why higher taxes on tobacco would not reduce smoking is that the revenue gained from the taxes is not typically used to help get at the root of the smoking problem: addiction. If the tax revenue gained from tobacco were used to fund useful programs like free smoking cessation seminars or smoking cessation aids like nicotine patches, then such a program might make sense. But the truth is that tobacco taxes fill the coffers of the states without ever making a dent in the true smoking problem.
Study after study has shown that there are many reasons why higher taxes on tobacco would not reduce smoking; yet the debate rages on. Many studies have also shown that there are effective ways to reduce smoking such as requiring retail shops that sell tobacco to be licensed, eliminating online sales of tobacco products, changing marketing tactics of tobacco companies and making smoking cessation programs free under major health insurance policies. But, because our state governments stand to gain from higher taxes on tobacco, they would far rather push a taxation program than any of the cessation programs that have been shown to work.
Related Articles for Reasons Why Higher Taxes On Tobacco Would Not Reduce Smoking
Reasons Why Higher Taxes On Tobacco Would Not Reduce Smoking Specific Links
Connect at Current.com
- Stay current! All the Latest News and Videos: Entertainment, Politics, Sex, Tech, and Music. See whats new at Current.com.
-- http://www.current.com/
Watch Free Videos At Mevio!
- Tons of Free Videos, Only At Mevio.com
-- http://www.mevio.com/
Howie Mandel & The Talking Pine
- Howie Mandel tries to come up with a holiday campaign for Buy.com. Buy.com has millions of items at amazing prices, free shipping, video reviews, over 20 major categories of products.
-- http://www.youtube.com/
Free Tech and Gadget Reviews!
- Watch GeekBrief With Cali Lewis on Mevio!
-- http://www.geekbrief.mevio.com/
Free tech talk and news video!
- Watch Tech5 with John C. Dvorak now!
-- http://www.tech5top5.mevio.com/
Reasons Why Higher Taxes On Tobacco Would Not Reduce Smoking News
Taxing cigarettes a hot topic again in Mississippi - Forbes
Taxing cigarettes a hot topic again in Mississippi Forbes, NY - Mississippi's current tobacco tax is among the lowest in the nation, but Barbour said he's not trying to help build up state coffers. ... |
7 Reasons Why We Suffer Heart Attacks By: Emilia Klapp, RD, BS - Healthy Wealthy n Wise
 Healthy Wealthy n Wise | 7 Reasons Why We Suffer Heart Attacks By: Emilia Klapp, RD, BS Healthy Wealthy n Wise, WV - Smoking causes the narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to our legs and arms. I know that to stop smoking is not a piece of cake but you have to ... |
State must get serious about fighting smoking - The State
State must get serious about fighting smoking The State, SC - You don’t even have to spend a dime to reduce smoking. One of the most effective anti-smoking tools is a high cigarette tax. It works particularly well on ... |
Where's the tobacco money? - Denver Post
Where's the tobacco money? Denver Post, CO - The remainder of the tobacco-settlement money has gone to fund dozens of other programs mostly related to health but not directly to smoking. ... |
Can 'sin' taxes be a savior for Florida's ailing budget? - Orlando Sentinel
Can 'sin' taxes be a savior for Florida's ailing budget? Orlando Sentinel, FL - But a decline in smoking caused by a higher tax will reduce that figure. "It's a lot of squeeze," he says, "but not as much juice as you think. ... Budget blues lead lawmakers to eye raising cigarette tax |