Tax Hikes For Cigarettes To Persuade Smokers To Quit

Despite news reports from self-proclaimed industry experts, it does not seem like the recession is over at all. The unemployment rate in California alone is over 11% and there are still plenty more unemployed and homeless across the country. In a time where many families and individuals are already struggling to pay their rent or mortgage, keep up with their car payments, and pay their utility bills and other bills on time, the government has put into effect a tax hike on a particular line of products to help persuade those to quit using those products altogether.

Tobacco is the case here, and a recent move by the government has many hopeful that it just might force more people to quit their potentially dangerous smoking habit. The smoking habit causes millions of deaths worldwide and costs billions of dollars in health care costs. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that an estimated 430,000 Americans die prematurely in a single year because of smoking-related causes. Health care expenses and the cost of time off from work has cost the economy a whopping 193 billion dollars.

The cigarette tax hike is the largest Americans have ever seen. The tax on a single pack of cigarettes used to be 39 cents, but it will now cost smokers $1.01 in taxes for that same pack. The tax for a pound of chewing tobacco has gone from 19.5 cents to 50 cents. That is a big jump, especially for smokers who go through a pack or two per day. To make matters just a tad bit worse, tobacco companies already hiked their prices up to offset any lost profits from sales. These tobacco taxes are being enforced to finance a huge project regarding health insurance for children. It is expected that almost $33 billion will be raised over the course of this 4+ year expansion.

The opinions of the public vary with some believing that it will persuade smokers to quit their now-expensive habit. Still, others believe that this tax hike will not help at all because smokers will still purchase these cigarettes even at a much higher rate. Some believe that it is unfair while others think that smokers should pay for the damage they do to their selves and everyone around them with the toxic smoke.

A research company predicts that it will cause a 4 to 5 percent drop of smokers in this year alone. What they can't predict, however, is how many more people will quit once the economy recovers. Again, although many claim that the recession is over, it does not look like things will be the same again for quit some time, and only time will tell how many smokers will continue to smoke or quit.