[SheLion]

"You could put a sliding fee on those who [continue to smoke] so that they will have to pay a portion of the bill when they go see a medical professional, a doctor or whoever," he said. "I am not sure which way to go on this. I want to go with what is the most successful way to get people to stop" smoking.

Then just say you quit two months ago.  If you are caught smoking by a health care person, just say "Oh gosh, I had a relapse!  I am going to quit again post haste!!  (They can not prove that you are lying).

"The state could raise taxes on cigarettes without unduly interfering with people’s lives or engaging in lifestyle discrimination."

RAISE TAXES???????????????  Maine just RAISED taxes! $2.00 a pack and $20 dollars on a carton.  Are they NUTS?  Who do they think they are kidding.

What a bunch of idiots.

Hastedt said that even though her organization advocates for Maine’s poor, it supported increases in the tax on cigarettes in part because the higher price is a smoking deterrent to poor Mainers. "That kind of approach — that is, increasing the cost of a product that is wreaking havoc with the health of the people of Maine — is the right approach," Hastedt said.

A lot of these people on Medicare are elderly.  This state sure must be hard up for money!

Smokers already pay more then their fair share of health care costs.  I am so sick and tired of this state targeting smokers that I can just barf!

Funny, smoking rates have dropped dramatically while health care costs have risen dramatically at the same time. It seems to me that the correlation PROVES that a lack of smokers causes higher health care costs!

  click on image for the truth.  They say "why spend money on cigarettes when you can spend it on the patch and nicorette!!!  Big Pharm needs the money!

Heh!

[AmericanChef]

What about all those seniors who sit around all day watching television or sitting at the card table, not getting any exercise? They're just as much a danger to the pocketbook as smokers are. Oh, wait - smokers don't have the right to abuse their bodies like seniors or fat people. Never mind.

[dfwgator]

And so it begins....

[gidget7]

When or IF they ever start charging people for OTHER lifestyle choices that are considered to be "risking" their health, (All legitimate risky behaviors)and can produce legitimate proof of those risks, THEN and only then should they be taking any such actions like this.

[pleikumud]

Federal Medicaid should be dismantled - no federal program at all. Let each state decide what level of spending it wants to incur to provide medical treatment to the indigent.
No one is "entitled" to medical care, anymore than entitled to free housing, free retirement, free food, etc.

Medicare should also be dismantled. To begin, everyone should have the right to opt out of it, not pay for it, refuse it, and provide their own private insurance. When a person turns 65, pre-existing conditions should not be covered. This would create a very powerful incentive for people to take responsibility for their own health.

Also allow anyone to opt out of social security (receive a lump sum payment in proportion to contributions already made less benefits already received) and shut it down to new participants.

[Young Scholar]

If you expect someone to pay for your medical care, you give them a degree of control over your life. It's a good reason we should never have socialized medical care.

[Bernard]

It would be cleaner and more honest to outlaw the sale of tobacco in the state, instead of trying to balance the impossible dream of using these people as an additional source of revenue again.

[endthematrix]

Smokers just help keep SS solvent.

[Eric Blair 2084]

I saw this when you first posted it,but couldn't get back to you. These darn work and family obligations keep getting in the way of important stuff like blogging.

This Senator Martin might be a douchebag and a proponent of collectivism, Socialism and Authoritarianism in the name of the "public good"... but at least he's honest!

It's almost refreshing to hear someone admit the real reason the Nanny State favors these coercive measures to force people to be healthy whether they like it or not. They don't care if people drop dead and never require medical care. It's the chronic diseases that scare the crap out of them. Why?

Money. Billions and billions of health care dollars $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Senator Martin is a Socialist who at least has the guts to admit he's a Socialist. I have a lot more respect for him than I do the liars who use bogus studies on SHS to coerce people to quit by banning them from private establishments.