Because............they talk out of both sides of their mouths. They spew the words SMOKE FREE EVERYTHING, but out of the other side of their mouth they say "Oh, gee whiz, we have to raise cigarette taxes because we can't balance our budget without it." (pout)
We can't raise alcohol, because too many of us drink to get through our days in the state house. We can't just CAN'T raise food tax, because we LOVE to EAT. There are only 1 out of "4" of us that SMOKE, so lets tax them! Besides, we at the state house get our smokes cheap! Lets stick it to the dirty nasty smokers in the state!
Oh yes, lets keep blaming smokers for the non-smokers having to pay so much more in health care. Lets blame it on the smokers. They are an easy target. Never mind that most smokers have their OWN health insurance! Not everyone knows that. Lets play up to the general public that is so stupid to believe that they are paying the way for the smokers! This will really get their backs up!
Plus, we have all these IMMIGRANTS on WELFARE in the state. Let the dirty smokers pay for THEM, TOO!