Posted on 04/11/2006 1:24:59 PM PDT by SheLion
A House subcommittee passed two bills Thursday morning that would increase the state's cigarette tax.
Kelly Davis is a spokeswoman for South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative. Davis says the increase would help stomp out youth smoking, "A cigarette tax increase will first and foremost prevent thousands of young people from smoking, and current smokers to kick the habit."
One proposal would raise the tax by 32 cents with money earmarked for expanding Medicaid programs for low-income children.
The second proposal raises the tax by 30 cents, creating a trust fund that lawmakers would decide how to spend. It also would come with a corresponding reduction in state income taxes.
The bills now heads to the full House Ways and Means Committee, but it's already come farther than ever before, according to Davis, "It's really a historic victory. It's the first time free-standing cigarette tax bills have passed out of the subcommittee."
Similar legislation has previously failed on the Senate floor and in the full Ways and Means Committee.
South Carolina's seven-cents-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation. Right now, the nationwide average price for a pack of smokes is about $4.12, meaning if you have a pack a day habit, you could spend nearly $50 or more a month.
First, and you won't believe this, it has helped me cut back on cigarettes. I roll a high quality tobacco in one pack of my home made cigs, then a pack of light tobacco roll, then a pack of exotic tobacco, then a pack of my own special blend. Four packs generally takes me about 45 minutes to roll and I listen to radio in the garage while I'm working. These 4 packs will last me the week, easily. I used to smoke about a pack and a half a day, you do the math.
I would advise newcomers to the rolling game to follow the instructions in the kits and gradually you get the feel for the "perfect pack". It doesn't take much time. I prefer a tighter pack in my smokes, especially the exotic blend, and it is very satisfying.
Are they good? Well, a friend of mine at our lake cabin property and I were taking about my new hobby and he bummed a smoke, one of my full flavor blends, and he fell in love with it. We went back to his computer in the back of his little tavern on the lake and I got him to the website. So, he's hooked. I plan on seeing he and his wife next weekend (by that time he'll have his stuff) and we'll see how much he likes it.
Another plus: you run out of smokes while watching TV in the early AM. You don't jump in the truck and drive forever to buy a pack of smokes, you go to the garage and roll 5 or 6, or what ever it takes, sit back down and enjoy.
A high quality machine is expensive about 70/80 bucks the tobacco, depending on what you want and how much you want is very reasonable (I was surprised) and the tubes are very cheap, and very good quality. Now, think about 5, 6, 7, or 8 bucks a pack. At 8 bucks a pack you got the price of the machine back in 10 packs. Hey New Yorkers, you should be rolling your own ASAP.
Minnesota is about 4 buck a pack, I won't pay that! I get higher quality smokes for a small fraction of that, and I'm not feeding the anti smoking lobby.
I was sceptical until about 2 months ago, but I'm a believer now. The fact that I haven't purchased a pack of cigarettes in 2 months has made a difference as well. I enjoy a cigarette and the quality of commercial brands has gone to the dogs. My smokes are wonderful and exactly the flavor that I want. I can control that, and that's what a good cigarette is all about. Before long this will catch on and the quality of cigarettes will go up, just like micro-breweries increased the quality of beer. This is a strange time for all of these vices but once the government says you can't do something, or it pushes you to stop doing something legal Americans say, "Ok I'll do it myself and I won't tell you what I'm doing because, and remember this...IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMNED BUSINESS"!
We're talking about cigarettes here. You just described Government itself. Government has obligations, not rights or responsibilities.
Would you like the state to legalize drugs?
Yes, but that's not the topic of this thread. This is a thread about raising taxes for spurious reasons, none of which were described in the article.
Government has a responsibility to protect its youth.
This is the United States of America. Until recently, we didn't think of our children belonging to the government.
Reminds me of a certain European regime that was crushed for its dangerous actions and ideology in the mid-1940's.
The myriad of laws we have enacted to "reduce teen smoking" over the years has had little effect on teen smoking, but a huge effect on the cost of doing business for a legal product.
If we were serious about or "children's" health we would not use these ineffective methods, but would instead ban the product altogether. Instead we want to appear to be doing something about the problem while doing nothing that makes a difference.
I am from South Carolina also, but I do not support targeting a legal product with burdensome regulations and taxes. But I would support outlawing tobacco sales altogether even though I am a smoker.
I find it humorous that the same people that used to complain about "sin" taxes and how ineffectual they were, have now embraced "health" taxes, while expecting different results.
Ok. So you are telling us that the kids in SC have no parental supervision? That the state needs to raise each child? How about teaching the kids at home about tobacco prevention?
And kids today who pay $80 dollars and up for designer jeans won't think twice about the tax increase on cigarettes IF they want to get them bad enough.
It's illegal for any child under 18 to buy cigarettes. So, how do you suppose that an increase in the taxes is going to stop them from smoking? Can you answer me that?
So true. Read my post #25.
hehe!
Goodness. That slipped right by me. Thanks so much!!!
What machine do you recommend. What tobacco?
I can roll 20 in three minutes. hehe!
Thanks. Sounds like a good place to start.
tobaccostation.com is another website you may want to look at.
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