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brilliant. like I said, it’s about the money not saving lives. same goes for cig taxes. They want to keep it at the sweet spot on the laffer curve so that revenues are optimal

Absolutely. But with cigs, they have a lot of room to play with. They will raise taxes in the name of health concerns a ittle at a time, each time smokers will grumble and complain, but it leads to nothing. Eventually, we WILL be paying $11.25 for a pack of smokes, just like in Canada. Sure, smuggling increases from states with lower taxes, but that will be correctd by having other states raise their taxes to stop "illegal" smuggling. Of course it's only illegal because the government made it illegal in the first place.

This is why I laugh at those who think "legalizing" pot will be so great. It won't be. It will just make it more expensive, and those who try smuggle illegal stuff will still be criminals, still violate laws dealing with controlled substances, (tobacco, alcohol and firearms are "legal" controlled substances)

As soon as the government "controls" anything, you're taxed and screwed.