Poll: Do you favor increasing the state cigarette tax to help fund some health care costs? / LJWorld.com

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Response		Percent	Votes
Yes		67%	509
No		29%	225
Not sure		2%	18
Total	752

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Pywacket 5 years, 7 months ago

ckeizer77~ Excellent points. hawkperched (which is an insult to real hawks everywhere): that's exactly the kind of BS everyone would expect out of scum like you. Really, wouldn't a therapy/drug combo do more for you than the release you gain from your diarrheal spewings on forums?

hawkperchedatriverfront 5 years, 7 months ago

I would lower the tax, so the smokers would smoke more and die sooner and it would allow teenagers and single moms on limited incomes to buy cigarettes. The higher taxes shuts out many people. We should be a caring community and state and have inclusiveness when it comes to smoking and drinking. We would be a leader in the state if more smoked and more drank and died sooner. We would have the most sustainable state in the Union. Go Hawks!

humblecommentator 5 years, 7 months ago

i am against higher taxes generally but would like to see them taxed out of existence.

Corey Keizer 5 years, 7 months ago

They should cut taxes on food, and increase taxes on cigs, booze and gas. Cut taxes on the necessities and increase taxes on the luxuries.

persevering_gal 5 years, 7 months ago

If this gets smokers to think twice about lighting up, then by all means, RAISE THE TAXES ON CIGS! Thanks to second-hand smoke, I now have asthma! They can at least help pay for my health care!

Pywacket 5 years, 7 months ago

My mother, after smoking for 40-some years, FINALLY quit a few years ago--not because of all the health reasons but because the state in which she lives raised cig taxes (yet again) and she decided she'd be damned if she was going to keep shucking out that much money once she was retired and on reduced income.For her kids & grandkids (who lost our father to emphysema/lung cancer because he wouldn't/couldn't quit), it means she might be around a few years longer and that whatever time she does have will be of a much higher quality, as she's not hacking any more and no longer headed for the oxygen-machine dependency that so depressed our dad in his last 5 years. For her, it was about the money--until she realized how much better she felt--fewer illnesses, etc. Whatever. We'll take it.Higher taxes won't stop every nic addict (we're still amazed that it stopped our mom), but if it stops a few, and (even more importantly) stops some young, not-yet-hooked kids from ever starting, I'm all for it.And yes--raise the booze taxes, too. I'd be happy to pay more for this "sin" if (a) the money went to health care and (b) the higher cost held a few drinkers to 2-3 drinks rather than 3-5. Would the hard-core alcoholics still drink as much? No doubt. But maybe the social drinking crowd would scale back, and fewer of them would then reach the threshold of incipient alcohol dependency, which can creep up on people.

BigPrune 5 years, 7 months ago

Whatever happened to the Tobacco Settlement? Why didn't that money go into off setting health care costs?

BigPrune 5 years, 7 months ago

Joseph Biden says if you don't want to pay more taxes then you're not patriotic.

BigDog 5 years, 7 months ago

So if this causes people to quit smoking ...... how will they fund their health care programs?Because annually health care costs keep rising .... even for non-smokers .... so if 10% of smokers quit ..... how will the funding needed for these program be made up?fat tax? soda tax? alcohol tax? sex tax (there are health risks there too)? No wonder people have a tough time making ends meet .... for every raise people get ... the government (city, county, state, and federal) wants more and more

BABBOY 5 years, 7 months ago

HA HA, I do not smoke. I will not be paying this one.

jumpin_catfish 5 years, 7 months ago

While I don't care how high the taxes go on tobacco because I don't smoke, it does puzzle me that people are so willing to give the government more of their money to spend on whatever. Personally, I will never give the government one thin dime willingly, they will need to take it and take it they will.

SusieCreamcheeze 5 years, 7 months ago

Cody Henry...tell your mom I said hello...

nut_case 5 years, 7 months ago

As a non-smoker and only a light/social drinker - I suppose I should be for it. But I worry that someone will actually wake up one day and see that heart disease is the leading killer in the US. So will we then have 'sin' taxes on Bacon? Cheese? Eggs? Would a glazed donut be sin while a bran muffin escapes? What if I want real butter on the muffin? Two years ago eggs and butter were 'bad' Though recent studies have shown they now actually have health benefits when consumed in moderation. Likewise with wine. If you believe the bible, Jesus turned water into wine...but now it is taxed as a 'sin' Who came up with that?? I believe our government has no business what so ever dictating what people do or eat through taxing 'sin' while allowing 'approved' activities to be relatively cheap, though still taxed to a high degree!!

Pogo 5 years, 7 months ago

While we're at it, let's also raise the tax on liquor and beer. I'm serious.A pack of cigs ought to cost about $20.00 and a six pack of beer ought to cost close to $15-20. A 750ml bottle of what is now $10.00 wine ought to cost $15.00. Increase these "sin" taxes so the people can health care. While "sin" taxes are a bit regressive (more poor people smoking and drinking than wealthy and middle class people), that's ok.....they're contributing to the health care premium they're otherwise not going to be paying.Kansas' lack of foresight and pure D ignorance in the area of public health and the provision of health care for it's population merely underscores the simple reality we're really a backwater state full of rednecks and hillbillys'. We get just what we deserve in this area......

toe 5 years, 7 months ago

Denak, just write a check and send it to the Governor.

denak 5 years, 7 months ago

I don't smoke but I would gladly pay more taxes if it meant that every child under the age of 18 was covered in this state. I have a friend whose son has Type 1 diabetes and every since he was diagnosed two years ago she has had to jump through hoop after hoop to get him what he needs.It is just ridiculous.Dena

Chris Ogle 5 years, 7 months ago

Oh boy... more taxes!! The last time I went to a bar, it was in Baldwin City. I enjoyed a beer (43% Tax on the beer) and smoked a cig while drinking a beer. What a sinner I am!!By the way, the sin tax for fuel was nearly 40 cents..... What a sinner..... Thank you for allowing me to be me......just a hard working American who is paying way too much in Taxes...Maybe I should stop earning money and apply for a bail-out .........NO THANKS.... I will just be an American..... I would rather VOTE!

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