Yeah.
Now how about spending some of those cigarrette taxes on developing a safe cigarette?
Sorry, there's no safe way to drag the products of combustion over some of the most sensitive and fragile tissue in the human body.
Maybe with some more tax dollars they'll take a shot at it.
Former Surgeons General Seek Cigarette-Tax Increase
February 5, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC -- A $2 increase in the per-pack federal tax on cigarettes would result in some 5 million smokers quitting the habit, according to four former surgeons general.
The group unveiled its tax-increase idea on February 3. The plan also calls for the creation of a nationwide counseling and support line for people who want to quit smoking--a suggestion that found favor with Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, reports the New York Times.
Thompson said that the government would invest in excess of $25 million to establish a toll-free national "quitline" by the end of 2004. In addition, the states would be given money to help them start their own support lines.
The group of former surgeons general--which includes Dr. David Satcher, Dr. C. Everett Koop, Dr. Julius Richmond and Dr. Jesse Steinfeld--also wants additional research conducted on the health risks associated with tobacco use, more in-depth training for physicians and a media campaign highlighting the harmful effects of smoking.
The cigarette excise tax now stands at 39 cents per pack. The surgeons general propose using half of the $28 billion collected from an increased cigarette tax to help fund their plan.
According to the Times, health officials estimate that smoking results in 440,000 premature deaths annually and racks up a health-card bill of $75 billion. Currently, some 50 million Americans smoke.
Although Philip Morris U.S.A. spokesperson Jennifer Golisch said the company backs the government's public-education efforts regarding the effects of smoking, an increase in the per-pack cigarette tax to $2.39 would increase counterfeiting and prompt more smokers to try to buy cheaper cigarettes illegally via the Internet.
"NACS has always opposed an increase in the federal cigarette excise tax and will continue to work with congressional leaders on other tobacco legislation, such as remote sales," noted Allison Shulman, NACS director of government affairs.