Hmmm...if a pack of smokes costs $11 in NYC and the evil tobacco company makes 40 cents, I’d say that smokers already paid for their medical costs, many times over. And if the smoker has private insurance, the “state” gets off scot-free from paying. The whole “it’s for the chilluns’” ruse is getting old. In almost all states, the tobacco taxes don’t go for care for sick smokers or “reducing” smoking, they go into general revenues. And these states RELY on the tobacco settlement $ as part of their budgets.
Black-market cigarettes costing NY $20M a month
The underground tobacco market is spreading like a fast-growing cancer in the wake of tax hikes...
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/burned_by_bootleg_smokes_IqtVTHYSTsWW6KcabOliRO