"Inconsistency is the only thing in which men are consistent."
- Horatio Smith (1770-1849), English writer
What is constantly criticized by practically every public service organization as being deadly to your health, but the government annually subsidizes its production to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars? Paul Jacob, on his website U.S. Term Limits, discusses the problem that is tobacco:
"A thousand public service announcements a day urge Americans to kick the smoking habit. Meanwhile, state and federal governments rely on cigarette taxes to cover the check for everything from Medicaid to education. Washington subsidizes tobacco farmers--then turns around and tries to regulate cigarette manufacturers out of existence."
Last year, the U.S. Surgeon General told Congress that he would support banning tobacco products. This stance received little support from his listeners or the anti-smoking lobby. Politicians are in a dilemma. On the one hand, they want to promote the good health of their citizens. On the other, they don't want to give up the revenues from cigarette taxes and lawsuits against the tobacco industry. So what's the answer?
"Should cigarettes remain legal for adults in this country? If so, should they be manufactured and sold by a government monopoly, as in some nations, or by private enterprise? And if it's to be private enterprise, how should the manufacuter and sale of a product with known health risks be regulated?"
Mr. Jacob thinks our state and federal legislators are more concerned with getting their share of tobacco tax revenues and litigation settlements than they are about our health--that they're using this money to buy our votes. Interesting point, and one that Mark Schmidt's research would seem to support. What do you think?
1 comment:
The anti-smoking people are making an important point in a convoluted way with their Shards O' Glass Freeze Pops ads...
http://www.shardsoglass.com/shard.cfm?lp=1
...tobacco products are the ONLY products on the market which are deadly when you use them as they are intended to be used. The vast sums of money are probably the only thing keeping these menaces on the shelves. And I say this as a 25+ year smoker. But quitting's easy. I've done it dozens of times.
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