Then these Sad fucks ban it in businesses taking away the owners right to decide for Him/Herself if they want smoking or not. Fucking pricks.

Larry

Kinda reminds me of the 20's.

i just quit some months back using chantix. it cost just over a hundred bucks for the one month's supply - that means in the first month i saved about fifty bucks.
the only reason i quit was the five dollar a pack price though now i am so glad that i am no longer an addict is can see more clearly. i watch those around me and i see that they 'need' a smoke. tis a bit scary and odd, i can see now.
and i loved smoking. never tried once to quit until december.
now... unless i drink a tad too much (once a month) i will never have a cigarette to my lips. on those occasions, i've had a hit or two that i can't say i enjoyed and i put the cig out.

all the best

Good for you Sense!

Those of us that like a dip on occasion are finding that our costs per can are up to over $6.00. Much of that is taxes.(This is California) I don't know just what they pay for Cope in NY, but that has got to hurt.

Another reason for a national sales tax.

PLEASE.

Smokers rights? Give me a break. You have no more right to light a cigarette in my presence than I do to burn incense. Smokers are drug addicts, and maybe the tax will force many of them to quit - good for them.

And don't lecture me on how hard it is, because I did it. If you're too weak to quit, then pay the f-ing tax and shut the hell up.

So You don't believe in Smokers Rights huh?? Reformed Smokers are usually the worst of the lot. More so than Neverbeen smokers.

Larry Mohr

In the NY Post today, regulators are warning merchants about selling milk above the prices set by the city. If those dumb fucks enforce the regulation, you'll be reading about milk shortages in the city.

Wow we are paying that in gas taxes or more. And best yet! We need gas.

How do you think we are paying for the war?

"Reformed Smokers are usually the worst of the lot. More so than Neverbeen(sic) smokers."

Larry Mohr


Once a junkie ...

I know.

Quit August of 1992.

Thank you, Motorola.

(Anyone caught on campus with smoking materials was immediately fired. We routinely had 100% process yields. Now all my work has been sold to China. Idiots.)

Nicotine is the number one killer drug.

bu-lsh-t, pure and simple! Either outlaw all tobacco production, pure and simple, or stop taxing the sh-t out of citizens engaged in a legal behavior. You know what, the legal pursuit of life leeds allways to death, regardless

Politicians are setting up a clasic black market as the 18-wheelers are loaded and rolling from North Carolina to NYC. You don't have to be an economist to predict that or the fact that NYC will not raise nearly as much tax revenue as they forcast.

The geniuses who thought up this tax plan are the same types who will be working for Obama.

So You don't believe in Smokers Rights huh?? Reformed Smokers are usually the worst of the lot. More so than Neverbeen smokers.

Larry Mohr

Posted by LarryMohr



Cliche alert!!!!!


"worst of the lot". Bull fucking shit. We SUCCEEDED in overcoming drug addiction. If you haven't, then you need to grow some balls and deal with druh withdrawal. It sucks. The outcome is liberating. It is a personal achievement of great measure, and the whiny, nos-wiping snipes of drug addicts can't diminsh the power of our success.

Smokers are drug addicts, and if they can't quit, they are weak. End of story.

WOW Unbelievable.

Larry Mohr

Fuck taxes, I buy my smokes online from an Indian reservation in upstate NY. No taxes!

Smokers rights? Try to light up a cigar in a fast food restaurant.

When I used to smoke, cartons were $2.60 at the PX. Over 30 years ago, so go figure. No taxes at that time either.

Smoking is directly responsible for the deaths of over 400,000 Americans a year. And yet, marijuana is still Public Enemy #1.

Here's the deal: let's swap out marijuana for tobacco (cigarettes). We (of course) tax the marijuana in whatever packaging the market creates, sell it like liquor, and by putting blended tobacco on Schedule A, fill up our jails with smokers who will have to serve their time sans nicotine. How long do you suppose it would be before we discover the effect it has on how many of our fellow Americans are diagnosed with emphysema, bronchial pneumonia, cancers of the tongue & esophagus.

I watched a good friend die--day by day--one oxygen bottle at a time, due to emphysema. With all the empirical evidence that's easily available, why anyone would still smoke is beyond my comprehension. This isn't about your "rights"--it's about your life.

#2.75 a pack fer cigs in NY?

Horrors!!

Spud should move and save some money.

In Canada smokes go fer about ten bucks a pack.

And that's in real money!!

^_^

Be Well.

/Feel the burn!

extortion tax plain and simple,
if no more smokers in NY State what
extortion tax is next ?????

Maybe they will tax peoples' farting-contributing to global warming.

Lord knows with the proposal invoice at 43 trillion--the gov't will need a lot of farts to pay the bill.

How about taxing for their weight on the plane.

Tax cheeseburgers or Mexican food.

Shoot we are taxed when we wake up, get a cup of coffee, flush the toilet, take out the garbage, drive our car, WORK! and when we die.

I need to quit anyway...and I don't live in NY.

Smokes are 4.75 a pack here in sunny San Diego.

I have tried--probably 30 times to quit.

Cold turkey and a prayer was the best at 6 weeks.

And that's in real money!!

^_^

Be Well.



Well, that's just mean.

Me too Murphy. I quit for 6 months then said, "I'll just have one".

I guess like a friend of mine said, "It's the engine that kills you not the caboose".

They're going in the trash can now that my sister's death and memorial services are over. I quit once and I can do it again. I'm not going to pay $5 a pack to smoke.

I can't wait for the caffeine tax. It is a drug, and if you can't go a morning without a cup of joe, then you are a drug addict and deserve to pay $1 tax per cup. Throw that tax on the caffeinated sodas too, tea bags, energy drinks, etc.

CRICKETCRICKET

Taxing people for every pound for which they fall into the 'obese' category (not simply overweight) would go a long way to cutting insurance costs.

This country is full of people who can't or won't put a fork down. By far, obesity is the leading cause of any number of fatal maladies.

This tax doesn't bother me at all. If you don't want to pay it, don't buy cigarettes. Simple. It's not like gasoline which is requirement of modern society.

$1.25 spike per pack that officials expect to bring in $265 million a year.

GOVERNMENT: "Its For Your Own Good" (Cash Register sound in the back ground)

Boston Needs A Cigarette Party

They're going in the trash can now that my sister's death and memorial services are over. I quit once and I can do it again. I'm not going to pay $5 a pack to smoke.

But who will I bum a smoke from next time I come visit you and we are out drinking?

Here's a thought. How would tobacco users feel about getting rid of all taxes on tobacco and we just make it so that insurance companies and Medicare do not have to cover the cost of treatment for users and former users who develop diseases related to the use of the product? We could also allow health care providers to refuse treatment under those circumstances.

Taxing people for every pound for which they fall into the 'obese' category (not simply overweight) would go a long way to cutting insurance costs.

This country is full of people who can't or won't put a fork down. By far, obesity is the leading cause of any number of fatal maladies.

Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2008-06-06 11:12 PM


Facist or something....

And you want Universal Health Care too--liberalism is a mental disorder.

Lose your personal freedom to eat what the heck you want. Next it's what skinny people eat and drink. Do you see the pattern???

Do people make bad decisions--heck yeah--but keep you and the gov't bullshit out of it!

Here's a thought. How would tobacco users feel about getting rid of all taxes on tobacco and we just make it so that insurance companies and Medicare do not have to cover the cost of treatment for users and former users who develop diseases related to the use of the product?

It won't work. How would one prove that their ailment was or wasn't caused by smoking? And what about people with cardiovascular diseases who eat nothing but fatty meat, eggs, and butter? Do we deny them? Then of course the people who don't exercise enough. Do they not get coverage, either? Where would one draw the line?

Same idea there GM. You make bad choices, poor diet, no exercise, drug abuse, etc. then why should you be able to expect expensive treatments which result in higher insurance costs and taxes for the rest of the population?

Isn't this idea conservative meat and potatoes right in line with Bush's "culture of responsibility"? It's right in line with the abortion argument or people who bought into bad mortgages. You made the choice, now live with the consequences.

It's right in line with the abortion argument or people who bought into bad mortgages. You made the choice, now live with the consequences.

No, there's a distinct difference. When I buy health insurance, it is to take care of me unconditionally -- i.e., there is nothing in the contract that says I have to take perfect care of myself.

When people bought the subprimes, their contract expressly stated that payments had to be made or they were in default and could lose their home.

i've been smoking approximately a half pack of smokes a day for 39 years. i enjoy my smoke - a carton is still $28.73 (namebrand menthol 120 lights) here and if i want to smoke the tiny cigars, they're half as much.

certainly, people should start questioning their government when this type of "sintax" is imposed. next thing you know, they'll start charging you for your necessities. like corn.

goatman - 'zactly! my father died of lung cancer 13 years after he quit smoking - funny thing, ALL his contemporaries died of similar ailments whether they smoked or not - they were ALL in the same line of business - dams and tunnel stiffs - yup, it seems concrete, dust and other type materials when breathed in caused lung diseases.

he told me before he died that had he known he would have continued smoking as it caused him pleasure.

"Do people make bad decisions--heck yeah--but keep you and the gov't bullshit out of it!

Posted by MURPHY "

So you're now on board for legalizing drugs, preserving women's choice, etc., correct, Murphy?

"Fuck taxes, I buy my smokes online from an Indian reservation in upstate NY. No taxes!"

I do the same for my wife. I'm afraid that's too good to be true. Sooner or later the fed-fucks will put an end to it.

midiman: I do not smoke but for your statements I give you the Righteous Asshole Award (RAA)! [not a Funny Flag, but the site is so limited]

I smoke one or fewer cigarettes a day -- usually after dinner. I buy about a pack a month. If I'm out drinking, I'll bum a couple off of my drinking buddies, too. If I came down with lung cancer, would it be blamed on the smokes? Hard to prove, I would think.

Murphy and anyone near Los Alamitos , Ca, could bring a care package of long cut Cope for a broke person. Or not.

I have a good idea.

Lets push to market cigs to only democrats, so they can all die sooner.

How is that plan?

Kuma

"Do people make bad decisions--heck yeah--but keep you and the gov't bullshit out of it!

Posted by MURPHY "

So you're now on board for legalizing drugs, preserving women's choice, etc., correct, Murphy?

NULLIFIDIAN

Careful now. You're gonna make eyes spin with that kind of pragmatic talk LOL

And the same 'we don't want government in our business' is all over the 'McCain supports warrantless wiretaps' (sic) thread in support of the government's right to eavesdrop without the mandated warrants.

They also don't want people to marry who they want if they're gay, and a plethora of other issues where the government can grant freedom to do what we want if it doesn't hurt someone else.

Go figure.

Midiman is a reformed smoker. They are the worst antismoking NAZI's around.

Larry Mohr

But GM, health insurance isn't unconditional. There are all kinds of loopholes that allow private insurance companies to to deny payment for treatment of their customers.

But anyway, how about we take private insurance out of the question then and just focus on medicare? Why should my tax money have to go to pay for health care for lung cancer or heart disease treatment for someone who smoked for 25 years and never met a deep fried pie they didn't like?

The only thing preventing a "fatty tax" is that most americans are obese themselves.

That whole democracy thing and all.

That being said, where will New York get their revenue stream when they finally do accomplish there goal of taxing smokers into quitting?

HI LENNY! Why is it liberals are always bringing up NAZI's?

Dude, Hitler was as left wing, as you can get.

Whats the first thing he did when he took power?

Take away all guns.

And in his book, what did he say was the most important thing about society?

That the people should all work together for the common good and give up personal ambition.

You know whats funny, in Hitler's Book Mein Komf, it says that and then last week OBAMA SAID THE EXACT SAME THING.

LOL You like hitler? Obama believes some of the same things he does, he stated it almost word for word last week.

Damn your dumb Lenny. you know nothing, and your parents are probably 1 step up from monkeys.

Kuma

Kuma-
re: "Dude, Hitler was as left wing, as you can get."

Dude, you are as, stupid, as, you can, get.

But do go on about "Mein Komf", as you seem to be an expert on the subject.

"your dumb"

The classic self-retorting retort.

KUMA

Hitler was considered a fascist - a 'right wing' fanatic.

fascist
Pronunciation [fash-ist]

noun

1. a person who believes in or sympathizes with fascism.
2. (often initial capital letter) a member of a fascist movement or party.
3. a person who is dictatorial or has extreme right-wing views.

Americanunity-
That definition must be wrong. Everyone knows that the Right is only good, and all evil comes from the Left.
Once you understand this, most thought becomes unnecessary. All you need to know is if something is good or evil.

LOL

The sad thing is I know some really great people who are Republicans. Their disdain for Bush and the NeoCons is only bested by mine.

I've never listened to Air America (wouldn't know where to find it), and have listened here and there to Rush, Hannity, and the other right wing mouthpieces long enough to think they're egomaniacs who are full of shit and lining their pockets on the backs of people who are stupid to the 10th degree.

The really sad thing is how so many "Republicans" on this blog and others could care less about their president upholding the law. I for one, as are all of my Republican friends, just in awe at the egregious disregard this particular bunch have for the law.

If you took only one of Bush and Co's misdeeds and theorized that Bill Clinton had done it, the right would have been clamoring (as they did over a blow job) for impeachment. But, because it's a NeoCon Republican it's all hunky-dorey to start illegal wars, and treat the Constitution and separation of powers like toilet paper.

Just amazing.

American-
The true believers don't want their president upholding the law. They want him to rule from the authority of a higher law, and be above the law as we know it.

Here's a thought. How would tobacco users feel about getting rid of all taxes on tobacco and we just make it so that insurance companies and Medicare do not have to cover the cost of treatment for users and former users who develop diseases related to the use of the product? We could also allow health care providers to refuse treatment under those circumstances.


Uhh.

I pay for my own insurance. I pay a higher premium on my insurance because I smoke. Problem solved.


Taxing people for every pound for which they fall into the 'obese' category (not simply overweight) would go a long way to cutting insurance costs.


I don't really know what to say to this. A small part of me thinks you're being sarcastic, but I doubt it.

I have an idea. Why don't we ration out food. Close down all the grocery stores, confiscate all of the perishables and have the government set up shops. You get a monthly ration card to purchase food with. Of course, in good government form, you should never get enough food to be able to feed your family.

This way, someone can corner the black market in food and the real class wars can begin.


Midiman is a reformed smoker. They are the worst antismoking NAZI's around.


Guy at work keeps telling me about how great is arm patch works. How awesome he feels and how liberated he is.

He said "In a few years your lungs will be as black as the bottoms of my boots".

I said "My lungs are already that black. There's nothing I hate more than a self-righteous former smoker."

Then he says "well at least i beat cigarettes."

So I said, "But you're still a douchebag."


Dude, you are as, stupid, as, you can, get.


I see what you did there.


But do go on about "Mein Komf", as you seem to be an expert on the subject.


And there too.


I've never listened to Air America (wouldn't know where to find it), and have listened here and there to Rush, Hannity, and the other right wing mouthpieces long enough to think they're egomaniacs who are full of shit and lining their pockets on the backs of people who are stupid to the 10th degree.

The really sad thing is how so many "Republicans" on this blog and others could care less about their president upholding the law. I for one, as are all of my Republican friends, just in awe at the egregious disregard this particular bunch have for the law.


I'm not a "Republican", but my views lean to the right. I've given up trying to talk to anyone who calls themselves a Republican at this point. The other day my boss hit me with the "Love it or Leave it" comment. It was the first time I'd ever looked at him like he was really, genuinely stupid.

Midiman is a reformed smoker. They are the worst antismoking NAZI's around.

Larry Mohr

Posted by LarryMohr




yup ... a reformed smoked who watched a relative die slowly from lung cancer. I have NO sympathy for people who whine about smokers' rights. They are self-indulgent crybabies who expect to be able to blow their smoke into the air that others breathe. Do so in the privacy of your own home and stink up your own car. I'm not in favor of banning smoking, but if you don't want to pay the taxes, quit. It's not easy, but you only have to do it once, and I've found other uses for the money.

Call me all the names you want to - I would bet that most smokers would like to quit, and most of the blather about this issue is from people who are simply rationalizing their inability to quit.

Think of the tax as the price you need to pay for the damage you do when you ride around in a car with a lit cigarette with children in the back seat, or to pay for the medical costs associated with smoking, or as your contribution to the subsidies we pay tobacco farmers.

Simply unbelievable. You support a policy that punishes someone for enjoying a certain product. I am sorry but I find that wrong to the nth degree. To me that is extortion plain and simple.

Larry Mohr

BTW I would rather die young with a smile on My face than to die old and miserable. 100% of the population will die someday 100$ of the time.

Larry Mohr

At this rate, its going to be cheaper to smoke crack!

I can't believe this will actually help anyone, but I could see it hurting the small time retailer. When I was a smoker, I would purposely avoid the stores that charged the most for cigarettes, whether I needed to buy them or not. Smokers may be a minority, but it's still a big minority that buys lots of stuff from convenience stores.

And what does a cigarette tax have to do with smoking in public? Smoking bans in public places are, I admit, fairly reasonable. I know that when I was trying to quit, my entire city seemed to smell like tobacco smoke, and it nearly drove me insane. But trying to connect such restrictions to the gouging of smokers at the checkout line is simply dishonest; most smokers are strongly addicted to nicotine and, even if the desire is there, cannot simply quite over night. They will pay anything, and these people know it. They also know that some will avoid retailers and start buying from bootleggers, too, but they figure, hey, even if we don't catch those guys and fine them into oblivion, we will probably still make a crap load of money ...

Which begs the question, how much of this money is really going to be used for so called anti smoking campaigns? How much does a freaking billboard cost, anyway? With what some smokers spend on cigarettes you could buy them a few hours a week with a personal trainer ... this is just way too much.

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Dethspud:

Smokers will be paying $2.75 per pack in state taxes, a jump from the previous tax of $1.50. Before the new tax, the average price of a pack of cigarettes was $5.82 statewide, and about $8 a pack in New York City, which levies its own taxes, Daines said. The new retail price for a pack in the city could now soar past $10 depending on the store.

i watched my grandfather die of lung cancer at age 67. his brother was a non smoker and is still alive at 85 or so. while my grandfather spent about 6 to 8 months in the hospital, his brother has been in and out for hips, tumors, then ulshimers. his family cant afford to take care of him so it fell on the state/gvmt aid. who do you asshole non smokers think cost the state more. it's a mild form of population control. and i'm glad that my grandfather went relatively quick and with dignity than the way my great uncle has lived the last 10 yrs of his life in some shitty old folks home, not knowing who he is, and his family all but forgetting him.

what part of "the longer you live the more health care you need" don't people get. what part of "health care providors are ripping you off" don't you get.
and if your gonna tax us i want representation of the money. and dont spend it on baseball stadiums
for rich people to play games(or wars), while my bridges collapse and the roads are full of pot holes(i live in Minneapolis, i think there are 4 closed bridges now!).
p.s. my grandmother is 82 smoked her whole life and never been in the hospital for anything major. how does that work mr/miss non smoker.

At this rate, its going to be cheaper to smoke crack!

Posted by dubyanipple

Super Duper FF!!

Your ol' granny ducked the bullet that hit your grandfather. And I guarantee you that your grandfather did not die with any kind of dignity. He died coughing up the blood in his lungs. His brother, despite his other afflictions, is still living.

You smokers think this is about the infringement and imposition of your "rights." You are in denial of your addiction.

Oh...just in case no one has ever told you before: you smell like an ashtray full of butts. Your car, your house, your couch, your bed, your clothes, your fingers, your breath--you reek of tobacco. You might as well raise skunks for a hobby.

We all die. It's how we choose to go out that matters. To follow JustMike's sterling example of what he thinks we should do to older Americans when they reach the age of 65 is to shove them out of the igloo and make them take that long, dignifying walk out on the ice flow.

But who will I bum a smoke from next time I come visit you and we are out drinking?

Posted by goatman

I'll find one for ya LOL

I hate sin taxes and this one is really going to cause hardship for many poor people.

"I hate sin taxes and this one is really going to cause hardship for many poor people."

I think our definitions of hardship is pretty far apart.

Hardship comes from struggling to afford the basics, food, shelter, transportation, health care.

Not being able to afford a recreational drug is not a hardship.

I pay $1.20 a pack and perhaps $.80 a pack to have them imported from Moldova via the USPS. Fuck taxes - only creates more crime.

The black market will be OUT OF CONTROL now! It gives more power to the Mafia and drug dealers. Go, Bloomberg, you asshole!

"Not being able to afford a recreational drug is not a hardship."

Oh, so you have never seen the pathetically addicted who have no hope whatever of kicking the habit??? Those people are people too and their addiction, sad as it is, is an addiction that they are "forced" to appease. Many are far past any hope of reforming. This tax increase will come directly out of their food, medicine, electric bill, etc. money but they will still buy their cigarettes.
I feel sorry for them and it is wrong for society to place more tax burden on those parts of society who are least able to afford it. Tremendously, immorally, sinfully regressive. Jesus Christ would throw the legislators who voted for this out of the temple if they dared enter. And hopefully kick their asses too. I think Jesus must have been sort of a bad ass, a good bad ass.

I grew up in that household Danni and I know how it works. I also feel no symphathy for those who have the ability to help themselves but refuse to do so. You say many are beyond hope yet you talk and then you talk about Jesus who's all about salvation and redemption. I don't know what Jesus would think about the tax but I do know he would never write off those who suffer from addition.

In comparison to marijuana, which I believe is reasonably easy to grow hydroponically (sp?) or in small patches, how hard is it to grow tobacco? When I worked in Kentucky, I can remember seeing lots of smaller tobacco fields all over the place.

Could a smoker (who might smoke a handful of cigarettes a week) realistically grow, dry, and roll his own cigarettes? Would these taste anything like commercial cigarettes?

"I don't know what Jesus would think about the tax but I do know he would never write off those who suffer from addition."

Er....do you honestly think there is actually a chance Jesus would have been in favor of this tax???

That is hilarious that you even have a question about where he would stand on such a regressive tax.

Is it really that funny? I'm certainly no bible scholar so maybe there a bit in there about Jesus telling his followers to not pay a tax but I can't recall it. I remember a few about Jesus telling his followers that they should pay the taxes.

What I also remember from the Bible is that there is plenty about redemption and hope. Which you seem to have given up on for a lot of people.