Do increased taxes imposed on cigarettes really work?

I was asked today to share my thoughts on the question of

Do taxes imposed on cigarettes to discourage public use really work?

She wanted to know particularly two things:

1. Improved social well being
2. Create distortion which causes a dead weight loss

I thought i'd post my response here for everyone. What do you think?

-----My Answer-----

the new fad for states to shore up their budget deficits by increasing tobacco taxes is gaining in popularity, however, the benefits of such programs are hotly debated.

Let's look at your two questions:

1- Improve Social Well Being

There are many who favor using oppressive taxes to modify the behavior of citizens, and smokers are an easy and popular target. Groups such as the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids are calling for a $1 increase across the board and call it a WIN WIN WIN for states. They reason:

A budget win

In this they are right, raising tobacco taxes $1 a pack can raise millions of dollars for state coffers. For example: Such an increase could result in an estimated $480.1 million in new revenue for a state like Florida.

Faced with budget crunches, many states are eyeing this as an easy way to quickly increase revenue.

read more

http://bit.ly/cry91u

E Cigarette Direct Survey of Electronic Cigarette Users on Anti Smoking Claims

James Dunworth, over at E-Cigarette Direct, is a curious guy, like me. We've traded some very interesting info over the last few months and he sent over the results from a survey he did this week asking people about their opinions and beliefs in some of the anti smoking groups outrageous claims. What he found did not surprise me, but I thought it would be fun to go down the list and see what they thought.

The survey included 250 people, smokers, non smokers and vapers, so not that comprehensive of a survey, but a nice place to start. The respondents broke down like this:

• 34% Non Smoker (91)
• 18% Smokers (48)
• 33% Electronic Cigarette Users (89)
• 15% E-cig users who still smoke (40)

 

Question 1: Do you believe smoking is bad for your health?

95% said YES | 2% said NO  | 3% were undecided

In Reference to: 

Electronic Cigarette Users Sceptical of Anti-Smoking Claims Survey

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http://bit.ly/dlAtE4

Green Smoke Affiliate Program