From restaurant worker Nicholas Olson, a guest columnist in today’s Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Since when is it OK for the Minnesota Legislature to pick on the minority of people to help the majority?
Smokers are being blamed unjustly for problems and health risks in a propaganda campaign that allows the government to pick on someone’s choice rather than dealing with a bigger issue. [….]

Increasing the tax is shifting the blame to smokers unjustly. Recent statistics show that state revenue from tobacco taxation is more than $171 million a year. That is more than the revenue from the Lottery ($46 million) and alcohol taxes ($69 million) combined. … More below:

If [Minneapolis City Council Member Paul] Zerby wants to stop youth and adults from smoking, especially pregnant women, he would have to make sure that he pulls the cigarettes from their mouths. Pregnant women smoke because they want to, not because they are somehow forced to. Kids smoke because they are not being raised properly by their parents.

Smokers know full well the risk of their lifestyle. Knowing that, they have been punished enough by society — both on a social level, by being banned from both civic and public property, and by the insurance company, which weighs the risk and charges smokers more for both health and life insurance.

If Zerby wants to have more effective taxation, than increase taxes on food vendors who serve high-cholesterol, high-fat foods. While only 21.1 percent of Minnesotans smoke, 60 percent are overweight. This has led to the second highest cause of preventable death.
Smokers are an easy target because it is OK to chastise people for an undesirable habit. Put the taxation where it belongs, on the real issues of the day: high gas consumption, debt evasion and corporations that do not pay taxes.


Leave the smokers alone. (Star-Tribune)


Let the tobacco war here begin!

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