More on Smoking

MCC has got me thinking about cigarette taxes. I wouldn't go so far as to say I am pro-smoking. But I do thinking smokers get a bad rap. If smoking is really as bad as we make it out to be, then why haven't we long since made it illegal?

Oregon's "Healthy Kids" initiative (very subtle name) is an attempt to raise cigarette tax by nearly $1 to help pay (as if it mattered where the $$ come from) for children's health insurance. The voters soundly rejected it on the ballot. But our oh-so-very well-meaning and progressive governor isn't giving up. Here is a quote from his State of the State speech:

"Will the tobacco companies -- and their allies -- pour millions more into another slick, deceptive, anti-children campaign? Probably -- it's in their DNA," he said. "And that is why we have to rally around Oregon's uninsured children with no less passion and determination than we rally around our own children when they're sick."

Yes. Tobacco companies, smokers, and the majority of voters who opposed the measure hate children. In fact, I am for denying healthcare to ALL poor children.

If this is such an important piece of legislation, why should it be funded on the backs of smokers, who themselves are disproportionately poor. It seems to me that it is Gov. Kulongoski, and politicians like him, who are being slick and deceptive.

Update: Seems everyone is thinking about this. Here is a rundown of the cost fo cigarettes around the globe from Gadling. Cigarettes cost $0.32 in Kazkhstan.