Posted on 05/19/2009 1:47:49 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
San Francisco, CA (AHN) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is hoping to impose a fee on one of the biggest culprits of streets and sanitation systems across the nation: the cigarette butt.
Newsom's proposal, which is slated to be introduced next month to the San Francisco Boards of Supervisors, would add 33 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes in an effort to offset the $10.7 million the city spends removing discarded butts from the city streets, gutter, and drainpipes.
Despite the likely protests from tobacco companies and smokers, Newsom maintains that the new law will help reduce city costs as well as encourage people to kick the habit.
"In general, fees help reduce the consumption and use of tobacco," Newsom said. "And we think that will have a very beneficial public health component."
San Francisco has already proved to be one of the toughest cities for smokers. Last year the city imposed a ban on the sale of tobacco at drugstores, a restriction that is being challenged in state and federal courts.
But this is not the first time Mayor Newsom has signaled a readiness to legislate health, proposing a fee in 2007 on any large store that sells drinks with high levels of fructose corn syrup.
Newsom said the cigarette butts became a target after the city's annual "little audit" found that cigarette discards make up a quarter of all the trash in the city's public spaces. Considering the city spends some $44 million a year on litter cleanup, and is facing a $500 million deficit for the coming fiscal year, the cigarette tax seemed like a logical conclusion.
"It's not a huge part of the overall budget," the mayor said of the $11 million or so in annual revenue expected to be generated by the fee. "But it's enough to keep street sweepers employed."
-PJ
“I’m a hairy fairy...”
I NEVER throw away cigarette butts - always an ashtray or field strip them.
But with this law, if I were in SanFran, I’d be collecting butts for sidewalk distribution.
He was Grand Marshall of the perverts' parade, here in Long Beach last weekend.
“...field strip them.”
I don’t even smoke and I can’t tell you the number of cigarette butts I’ve field striped over the years when I found them on the ground during my years in the Army.
Don’t EVER leave a trace that you’ve been there...you never know WHO is following you, LOL! Well, except for field latrines; you can leave them behind and make them into Tiger Traps in a jiffy! ;)
And don’t tell me Nature doesn’t use up every scrap of useful material generated. I’ve seen Robin’s nests with plastic bags, cigarette papers, paper plates and other odd stuff used in them.
I found a wren nest in the yard (on the ground; I didn’t take it!) that was lined with the black fur of my Lab, Cinder. I’d given her a good brushing outside that Spring when the weather warmed up, and her fur was an awesome, cushy nest for those sweet little Jenny Wrens. :)
You can’t even make this stuff up.
And this clown wants to be our next governor...
Do nor tax them.
Just enforce the littering laws and fine smokers $250.00 if they throw cigarette butts on the ground.
They’d certainly have enough weirdo-s living there that would JUMP at the chance to be the “Butt Police” and issue tickets all day long. ;)
Well.... if they’d left the word “Cigarette” out, yeah.
It is also a major peeve of mine.......and I smoke.
I remember a Saturday about 10pm when I pulled over to the side of the road and made my passenger get out of the car and retrieve the butt he had just tossed out the window. He was not a happy camper about it, but knew better than to argue with me. Amazingly, the marriage was still reasonably good at that point in time. I think it lasted about another year :)
I never quite understood why so many smokers elect to litter.
Just enforce the littering laws.
Fine Their Butts!
Instead of dumping my ashtrays in the burn pile, I think I will start bagging them up and mailing them to my SIL to do just that. And she's ornery enough to do it, even though she doesn't smoke!!!!!
AIDS, Hep C, and other homosexual related illnesses cost the city, county, state, and country way more than that. Let’s have a tax on anal sex. Male homosexuals have to pay a tax once they declare they are homosexual. Lesbians are exempt, since they have an ‘inny’ and not an ‘outty’.
You want to tax legal, but unhealthy behavior because of the stress it puts on public services, well let’s go after buggery.
I don’t want to live in a country where you pay a tax to smoke a cigarette, but you can let another man board you from the stern for free. Tax one, tax it all.
That's what we call our black lab mix, her name is Cinderella*..........although hubby just wants to call her SIN :)
.
.
.
.
*Don't let 5 year old girl children with Princess addiction name your pets :)
SF, where the rubber meets the road. LOL
ROFL. I thought I’d learned some new ones here at FR, but “board you from the stern” takes the cake! Not graphic, but clear-perfect!
They apparently want the butts thrown out the window since in all their PC-ness, they TOOK THE ASHTRAYS OUT OF CARS. There are consequences to actions. They’re so proud of ashtray-less cars...that now they’ve got wildfires and clogged drainage systems.
Idiots.
They need to tax the homosexuals to pay for their increased medical care needs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.