I may have mentioned this before, but it is really bugging me.

Example: As you know here in Florida, now
deceased Gov Chiles and some of his pals
cooked up a law that let the state sue the tobacco companies. This was in 1994 and it was to collect lost monies spent on so-called
sick smokers and medicaid.
Since then, other states have sued
and now the Justice Dept wants a piece of the pie.
There has been no mention of dumping
excise taxes at all levels. Since further
collection is simply aiding and abbetting the
tobacco industry in this so-called conspiracy
of hiding the fact that smoking is risky.
I once asked the Guv's general councel about that and was simply told you can't sue the government. I stiil think that further collection of taxes on a product the
government itself has declared risky, is
taking part in the big conspiracy.
We all know new proposals for more taxes are made all the time, on tobacco. The government is making more money than anyone here. Hypocrasy at it's finest.

Jackie

Hey there Jackie - can't help but agree with you.

Once a hypocrite - always a hypocrite.

Yes, the states and the feds are grabbing money as fast as they can from tobacco sales. They boo-hoo about the "children," but the fact is they make more money off underaged sales than the tobacco companies do.

According to an article in the July l999 Journal of the American Medical Association,
while the tobacco industry made $80 million on underaged (illegal) sales, the federal government made $222 million, and the states made $293 million.

So who are the ones REALLY profiting from kids smoking? The same ones who are robbing and persecuting ADULT smokers: the federal and state governments. Of course, they make more money off us too than the tobacco industry does. You'd think they'd treat their cash cows a little better, wouldn't you?

Treat their "cash cow" better? You've got to be kidding, Wanda. Since when has the government ever been nice to law abiding tax payers????? :-)

But seriously I have to agree about the underage sales. Yet all "Big Brother" wants to do is blame the companies for underage sales. Now, I am not defending the companies for what they have done with the price increases to pay the extortion money - However how can it be the fault of PM or RJR or any of the others for the underage sales?

I can see only one ultimate place to lay that blame - squarely at the feet of the government for not enforcing the laws they shoved down our throats. I don't even blame the stores for doing it - because they know it is not being enforced and they really don't care.

This is an issue that is beginning to get me as riled as anything else with this issue. Enforce what is on the books, instead of adding more and more restrictions to those who are already abiding by the ones that are there. Stop adding new ones.

To borrow from the NRA - If they outlaw cigarettes than only outlaws will have cigarettes.

Enough vent!!!!!

[This message has been edited by Gabz (edited 04-15-2000).]

I couldn't agree with you more. But instead of enforcing the underage access laws, the antis, the state and federal governments "punish" not only the tobacco companies but all adult smokers (as if either the manufacturers or we had any control over whether kids smoke or not).

The underaged make up 3 to 5% of the total cigarette sales. That means that the 95 to 97% of consumers who are adults purchasing cigarettes legally are being essentially fined because some kids purchase cigarettes illegally.

No, it makes no sense, but little about the anti-tobacco jihad does except for one thing:
it brings in a lot of money for the lawyers,
the bureaucrats and the professional medlers and gives some politicians a diversionary, feel-good soundbite when they are running for office.