The solution is higher taxes. Divide this 92 billion bucks into the actual packages of cigarettes sold and collect it from the morons who are costing us these many billions of wasted dollars.
This says there are 258 billion cigarettes sold each year. That's 12.9 billion packs. I'm too lazy to do the math. But if we tax the 92 billion dollars in extra health care costs into each pack sold, that would be fair and equitable.
The majority of the price of cigarettes IS taxes, proposed to pay for the cost of healthcare. The medical field blame everything on smoking or second-hand smoke, as it helps the cause makes their job easier.
“This says there are 258 billion cigarettes sold each year. That’s 12.9 billion packs. I’m too lazy to do the math. But if we tax the 92 billion dollars in extra health care costs into each pack sold, that would be fair and equitable. “
Just think how much we could tax if we included fat people and idiots who think taxing is a good way to control behavior.
how can Gallup claim $2K a year when nobody can afford deductibles? If we’re going to single out smokers, we could also single out diabetics, blood pressure, genetic abnormalities, functional alcoholics, dysfunctional druggies, etc., and smokers seem pretty cheap. Only 20percent of lung cancers are a result of smoking and second-hand smoke is less harmful than standing next to a street and breathing car exhaust. In fact, living in NYC is equivalent to 2pks a day from auto and business pollution. And for those who travel on planes, think of all that jetfuel exhaust on the seats. Maybe we should tax urban dwellers instead of smokers.