Talk About an Incentive!
Monday, January 8th, 2007
If health issues weren’t enough for people here in Maine to quit smoking, along comes yet another incentive. Our Governor, John Baldacci, in an effort to revise health care in Maine, is looking to raise the cigarette tax to $3.00 a pack.This will mean that Maine will have the highest cigarette tax in the Nation. I guess the idea is that more people will quit the higher the price goes. I’m sure that is true, but it does seem so unfair to smokers. Let’s tax the drinkers too! And the people who drink too much soda - that can lead to diabetes and other health issues. And what about Twinkies? And McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hersheys, Reese’s and bakeries? All of those things can lead to obesity. Obesity can lead to heart attacks. Yeah, the smoker in Maine is definitely being singled out!
All that being said, I would welcome the increase so I can use it as part of my incentive list! Now, the Government knows how bad tobacco is for us so why haven’t they outlawed it as they have with cocaine, heroin and marijuana? That would be a pretty good incentive too, wouldn’t it? Knowing you are breaking the law every time you purchase or smoke a cigarette would certainly discourage me from smoking.
But, I assume that would be bad, oh so bad, for the economy. What would the tobacco growers grow instead? And, think of the black market it would create. Remember (okay, you probably don’t remember, but maybe you heard about) prohibition? They screwed that one up so bad that they had to repeal it!
Yeah, it would really be great if we could be forced into giving up the coffin nails. But you can have all the incentives in the world and if you don’t set it in your mind that this is what you are going to do, I don’t think other incentives will be enough.
In the meantime, I am still moving forward with my resolution, hoping that this will be my time.
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