Tobacco Tax Increase: should we have had a chance to vote on this?...

[victory]

...(re-post from Politics & Government)? Cigarettes are about to go WAY up in price, due to a new Federal tax that goes into effect tomorrow, April 1.

It's going to have a huge impact, especially since we're in a recession.

Do you think this Tax should have gone to a popular vote?

...No anti-smoking rhetoric, please. It's just a question about legal process.
Kai Zen Li, the problem never was a health issue. The problem (from the Government's point of view, remember) is revenue shortfall...that is, the Government needs quick ready cash. It's not about health. If it was, it would have gone to a popular vote.
Vampires are not real: The Government predicts that the quit rate will only be about 6%.

Besides, it's not about saving lives. The tax is about raising revenue.
JAkieSn: Precisely my point. Smokers have been made to look like villeins, anyway, so why not lean on them, and not, for example, people who use disposable diapers (talk about a health hazard...whew!).

[KaiZenLi]

This doesn't solve the problem. All it does is cause more hardship, as the price goes up the people who use these products struggle to pay more in order to buy them.

Increasing the price is not the way to make people stop - the way to do that is education