$1.25 Tax Increase

The new sales tax went into effect today.

Many smokers in the state will be upset over this, but the evidence supports that a higher price of cigarettes will reduce the number of current smokers and prevent more than 37,000 smoking-caused deaths in New York. Increasing the price of cigarettes makes it more difficult for young people to start smoking, and that is good for New York Tax payers because the cost on all of us to pay for the health burden of smoking is $ 904 in state and federal taxes to cover smoking-caused medical expenses.

In this country citizens have a choice to smoke or not. If you choose to smoke on a daily basis this does have far reaching effects on all of us tax payers. If we can work to slowly reduce the amount of new smokers, in the future we are doing our community a service. Should we all continually pay for the cigarettes burden and sit silently by while the tobacco industry makes money on a product that is addictive... When a person looses their ability to stop smoking because they are addicted... the idea of freedom and choice get thrown out the window.

The media relishes in sensationalized news... so we are going to probably see some negative responses to the new tax.

check out the New York State's Tobacco Control site for more information.

And also the Capital District Tobacco Free Coalition.

And if you want to quit have you checked out the New York Quit Line?

Here is a positive story:

Anti-smoking advocates applaud NY's new cigarette tax


Have a great day!