Originally, these exorbitant tobacco taxes were supposed to be used to pay for smoking-related health costs. The logic being that if people quit smoking, health costs would go down and the taxes wouldn't be missed.
Yeah, right!
Now cigarette taxes are being used for everything from parks & recreation, children's health care, schools and balancing budgets. Are any of these taxes used for smoking related costs anymore? I doubt it. Needless to say, when people quit smoking (or otherwise evade paying these increasingly exorbitant tobacco taxes) something else is going to have to be taxed to make up for the loss of revenue. How many of those people who supported cigarette taxes wholeheartedly even considered this?
By raising the cost of cigarettes to $4, $5 and even $9 a pack, they've killed the golden goose and either motivated people to quit or sent them to find black market sources. Gotta love the Law of Unintended Consequences. It proves itself true every time.
As an aside I have decided to NEVER admit I smoke to anyone anymore. Congratulate me. I’m in the unhooked generation.