> That's almost all taxes.
I mean, that’s a good thing, right? Smokers should pay for the externalities their habit has on society as a whole.
I mean, that’s a good thing, right? Smokers should pay for the externalities their habit has on society as a whole.
"complete smoking cessation would produce a net increase in health care costs"
They paid a lot in cigarette taxes (even when the taxes were lower).
Those that got lung cancer didn't cost that much to treat because, well, there weren't great treatments. Lung cancer progressed fast enough that they might spend their last week in the hospital, but that was it (versus say Alzheimers where they might require a handful of years of institutional care).
They contributed to their national pension their entire life and then either died before collecting it or died less than a decade in.
I think they should be banned altogether in locations where non smokers might be. Putting a price on this seems the odd way to go.
Not being specific to NY or the US. This is not good when illegal/fake cigarettes are readily available. With these cigarettes, none of the entities(tobacco farmers, the government, smokers) will benefit from smoking.
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/alert-you-are-buyi...
Some info: https://priceonomics.com/how-cigarettes-tax-the-poor/
TL;DR cigarette taxes feel fair to non smokers because it appears to discourage a habit with bad outcomes, but economically they aren’t effective.