When it started to become politically correct, our big brother decided to tax smoking with the rationale that there was a social cost to people that smoke. This money will be used to offset the cost that smokers burden our system with. In that light, I would be more than happy to pay my fair share.
However, this has morphed into a politically safe tax. Smoking is evil incarnate so it cannot be a problem for any politician to tax them. Smokers are a minority in society anyhow. Lord forbid they raise income tax or property tax or sales tax. People would be irate in the majority if that were to occur. I guess my overall point is that I do not have a problem paying a tax if it is my fair share. When it starts becoming more than that is when I have a problem.
If you want to tax my legal habit to where I no longer can afford to smoke, there goes that tax base. Now what. I'm thinking there will be no choice but to either raise the other taxes I mentioned or the vilification of some other human habit will be instituted so it becomes politically correct to tax that instead. Yeah, maybe motorcycling. Listen to all the media reports; we are all nothing but brutes, hooligans, etc. and only cost society money in the long run. Sounds crazy now but so did taxing tobacco to all to heck in 1964.
What does it matter whether I smoke inside or outside? As a smoker I always try to be considerate of other people. If somebody asks me to not smoke or move or whatever I usually have no problem with that, Of course I tend not to allow myself to be surrounded by a bunch of whiners either. It is about courtesy and politeness. I do not exist on this earth to make your life pure nirvana with nary the chance of offending you while I do not expect that for myself either. We are all different people that do different things, have different views of the world, politics, etc. If people just stopped living in this "me first" paradigm and started to show some respect for themselves and other people, we would all be better off.
