Posted on 04/07/2005 4:27:17 PM PDT by LouAvul
HELENA, Mont. — Montana, which has served as Marlboro Country in magazine ads depicting rugged cowboys puffing on cigarettes while riding a fence line, is about to outlaw smoking just about everywhere but the great outdoors.
The state Legislature voted Thursday to ban smoking in all enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants.
The Senate approved the measure 40-10 on Thursday. It passed the House last month.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer (search) said he will sign it. Montana (search) will become one of just 10 states to ban smoking on such a widespread scale. California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island have similar laws.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
No smoking in bars, that is unreal. I can understand resturants, but bars? I`m talking about drinking bars, the kind with no side restuarant. That`s like banning hotdogs in a hamburger place, you can`t destroy your lungs but the liver is OK to destroy. Then they say "but the workers will get second hand smoke"...Yes, they don`t need that extra second hand smoke. They get enough first hand when they step outside to smoke a cigarette.
The baby's right to live supercedes the mother's desire to abort him.
This reasoning rings so hollow when we casually stand by as innocent people are slaughtered. Smoking is one area where the "pro-choice" argument truly does carry some weight: It's a choice to do what the individual wants with his body. It affects only him (her).
Tobacco Taxes
Montana's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.700
Montana's excise tax collection for the fiscal year ending June 2002: $12,120,000 Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39 Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2002: $7,512,700,000 Click here for the Cigarette Tax and Payment Table for all states.
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Number of six-packs of beer that must be sold in Montana to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 23 |
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Number of bottles of wine that must be sold in Montana to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 8.6 |
Montana Smokers' Contributions
to the State Economy - 2002
| Smokers Pay Excise Taxes2 | $ | 12,120,167 |
| Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments3 | $ | 30,361,682 |
| $ | 42,481,849 |
| Montana smokers' median household income2001 1 | $ | 27,076 |
| Annual state income tax liability for a couple | $ | 986 |
| Annual state income tax liability for a couple with two children | $ | 778 |
| Total average paid per Montana smoker in excise taxes | $ | 82 |
| Cost per Montana smoker for settlement payments to Montana | $ | 206 |
| Total annual payment to Montana per smoker | $ | 288 |
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What the hell is going on there? Montana is becoming a state of wimps. Good grief!
I may be wrong...but the use of the tobacco settlement money is strictly regulated...it doesn't go back to the State for the State's use...it goes to non-smoking campaigns, etc. The States are getting no tax relief from this settlement.
This is just the beginning, in 50 years freedom will be a distant memory. People motivated for a cause have seen that they will eventually get their way, if they properly demonize the behavior that offends them.
Ping
I'm willing to bet that well over 80% of the 'settlement money' has gone into states' general funds. This was nothing more than a revenue grab.
http://tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements/
Quote: Since the 1998 state tobacco settlement, we have issued regular reports assessing whether the states are keeping their promise to use their settlement funds - expected to total $246 billion over 25 years - to attack the enormous public health problem posed by tobacco use. Our latest report finds that most states are failing to keep this promise even as they collect record amounts of revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes and even as the tobacco companies spend record amounts to market their deadly and addictive products.
The states which participated in that little Al-Capone style extortion scheme were pretty much left to use those ill-gotten gains however they wished, although most of them made unspecified "pledges" to set aside a percentage for "anti-smoking" propaganda crusades.
Most haven't.
Someone here can probably find it for you, but the settlement money has been spent by states on many, many other things than intended.
Your following post seems to suggest that it's not strictly regulated.
... we have issued regular reports assessing whether the states are keeping their promise to use their settlement funds... to attack the enormous public health problem posed by tobacco use. Our latest report finds that most states are failing to keep this promise...
Well, if you think taxes are high on cigarettes in Montana and other states, in Canada it cost's $11.00 for a pack of 25. There is better money to be made selling black market stolen cigarettes than there is selling drugs. Cigarette crimes are rampant. There are lots of criminals in Canada now. You may notice them loading up on cigarettes if you live near the boarder.
The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: "From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage." - Alexander Fraser Tytler (later Lord Alexander Fraser Woodhouslee), in "The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic," published 1776
I used to be a smoker; and I will fight to the bitter end for smokers to have their rights, and my solution is just this:
Don't patronize the state if you don't live there;
Tell everyone what a dumpy place it is;
Sometime in this lifetime, this crap has to stop. If someone wants a smoke, then have one! It America for heaven's sake, not Russia!!!
Those of you that don't smoke or can't stand the smoke, ITS SIMPLE STUPID: STAY AWAY!!!!
I don't like the smell of smoke anymore, so I go somewhere else, and there are alot of other places to go.
And I'm sick of hearing about lung cancer, and this cancer and that cancer and on and on and on....everything in this world will cause cancer and anything else you can think of, so get off it, leave the smokers alone to do what they want, and if you don't like it, here's a quarter and you know what to do about it!
... we have issued regular reports assessing whether the states are keeping their promise to use their settlement funds... to attack the enormous public health problem posed by tobacco use. Our latest report finds that most states are failing to keep this promise...
I know that...I wanted you to see the naked intent of the settlement. They're not going to give up.
Oh, OK.
They're not going to give up.
Money grubbers rarely do. :-)
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