"Plenty of working people paying their own way who smoke, but let's conflate welfare recipients with smokers, lest some small sympathy for the shakedown victims seep out."
I noticed that right away, too.
It sucked in more than one person on this thread. So, I guess it worked.
They could have used anyone as an interviewee and I'd not feel any sympathy one way or the other.
We all have habits we like to indulge in (notice I did not say vices). We all pay taxes. Nobody likes to pay them. But we do anyone.
And when something gets too expensive, we give it up, or give something else up. It's called making choices with what resources you have available.
Would this story gain any traction if someone were complaining about taxes on booze?