But they can now afford that increase because Obama (mpbuh) gave them a $10 per week raise.

I'm sure that they were not going to use that $10 for something responsible like low-point beer and wifebeaters.

I appreciate this tax (WHAT?). Yes, I am (was) a smoker and wanted to quit and I have now: 1:I want to be healthier 2: I refuse to let the pres. use my money to fund his socialist programs. To "ATW": yes, alot of "rich" people voted for Obama (like the Wall Street execs)because they funneled his campaign money like many other lobbyist to get what they wanted (didn't work out too well for his agenda but thanks for the $) and lots of poor minorities who were uninformed sheep. I appreciate that those who voted along race lines instead of finding out the facts will finally have to pay their fair share. Their welfare checks will finally be taxed equally.

If you want to smoke I don't care just don't do it around me. Government is just trying to use taxes to fix STUPID. Wait a minute!!! GOVERNMENT trying to fix STUPID. You know, that's a oxymoron!

Rand was a smoker

You fail epically

Quit being just like those you supposedly hate and just supporting freedoms you approve of

why bother legalizing marijuana when the government has a monopoly going on the tobbaco tax.way to go you two bit drug peddlers..kill em slow enough to collect more taxes..prolong death to make excuses to demand higher taxes on everything in order to pay for youre drug dealing ways..the people whom have little income or are on the state will continue to get their butts for free every time they get their government check in the mail.this is class warfare at its best and at its worst it pretty much is yet another step towards taking away anybodys incentive to work.especially when they see the individual on wellfare still smoking when they cannot afford to..fairtax..be fair to all or be gone..

I think a lot of people are missing the point, I could not care less if someone wants to smoke themselves to death. Free choice is a good thing even if some people do things with it that I anyway believe is silly.

The thing about this tax is that its a consumption tax, for example it taxes the end result, not your pay or production. That kind of taxation makes a ton more sense then say income tax or a business tax. Now if they just would disband income tax along with all the other production killing taxes and adopt the fair tax we might actually be able to have production again in the US.

There are a few that break the mold...but lets be fair, Neal...if you are going to rail your listeners for misusing the word "racist." then you should ride that same rail by misusing "ignorant."

I find it very difficult to believe that the majority of smokers are unaware of the consequences of their smoking.

Call us careless if you like, but ignorant...nah. Though the class action lawyers may just use your definition for more frivolous lawsuits.

I'd just like to point out that I enjoyed a cigg right before walking into my SAT test where I scored 1550 out of 1600, i wonder what Neal scored?

I guess the resulting crime from increased cigarette smuggling doesn't bother al a carte "libertarians" like you. The loss of jobs and tax revenue in places like Florida, where cigar Mfg is big business, doesn't seem to faze him either. You have a home in FL, right Neal? Pure genius.

Of course, the increased taxes will divert spending from other areas of the economy, especially in poor areas. Then we will see more lobbying for increased spending on inner cities and welfare.

A tax on any of us is a tax on all of us. Don't you know that Neal? Or has your immature jihad against (legal) tobacco left you bereft of critical thinking skills.

BTW - Why do you have an Ayn Rand (1905-1982) quote displayed on your web page? She was a life long smoker and I'm surprised at your admiration of a such a "stupid", "dumb" and "ignorant" person.

I knew it!
I knew it!
Now they have taxed our BUTTS!

Neal Boortz just called you an ignorant dummy, you cigar smoking, no Fair Tax supportin', unsuccessful, poor Obamabot.

I enjoy a good cigar from time to time, so, please include me to as an ignorant fool too.

Note to family: Please put a few boxes of Casa Blanca Reserve Cameroon Coronas in my coffin just in case I can have them later.

Do you intentionally drop these idiotic posts sometimes just to see if people read? Foolishness in my opinion.

Addendum to my previous post. Witness all of the "criminal" behavior that crops up when people attempt to avoid behavior-modifying-taxation (i.e. prohibition). How does millions of people choosing to buy their smokes on a black market increase state revenue for health care? How does violent crime resulting from protecting one's "black market turf" increase our health or wellbeing as a society? Can we put a prohibitive tax on the gangsters' behavior so that we can pay for the added health-care cost of gunshot wounds resulting from these turf wars? How do these unintended consequences hold smokers accountable for any increased health care costs?

Neal, it's time to go back to the fundamentals. Freedom means tolerating crap you don't like in the hope that others will tolerate your crap, at least in public spaces.

Let's address the real problem with a real solution. Too many perceive health care as a human right, and too few of us are willing to allow a free market to control those costs, so we allow politicians to rook us into footing the bill for health-care that belongs to those who purchased the services with their unhealthy behavior.

until the government gets on the latest health officals bandwagon - childhood obesity epidemic. So let's help the little rascals out - a $1.00 increase in all soda products, all snack foods, all fast-food resturant food, all video game componets and all video dvd's. Since the little can't seem to stop themselves, let's help(tax) them out, from eating this unhealthly food and sitting in front of the TV playing video games and watching movies(they should be outside getting some excercise). As one of the people responded that the children of smokers will be the one's on SCHIP. I wonder how many overweight kids are already on SCHIP?

You think this is absurd...well I think any tax the government imposes to penalize a certain portion of the population is absurd.

I hope everyone stops smoking (should please all you health nuts) and the government says OOPS - dang we need to find another way to tax people to pay for our free health care for the children.

Think it won't happen...Well look when the gas prices went up and people started cutting down on driving...the government said OOPS...we aren't getting enough money...let's look at another way to tax the people...like a tax on the miles they drive. Most if not all states do have annual inspections, you do the math on how they will figure out the miles you drove. Some states are already looking at this new way of taxing people.

So don't get so darn happy when the government raises a TAX.

I am a highly educated professional, as well as an ex-smoker. I would just like to bring up some finer points that may have been inadvertently overlooked. I know Neil does his research, but what the folks are not seeing is the dangerous road we have been walking down with the “Sin Taxes”.
The US Constitution (which is a social contract NOT a living document) clearly states that the government has only one reason to institute and levy taxes. That reason is to generate revenue for the operation of our government and should be brought to bear in a way that is fair to each and every individual making up society as a whole.
To single out one group of people and levy a tax based on changing a behavior that some may deem to be inappropriate, is not only wrong, it is unconstitutional. The Government cannot and should not levy any tax for the reason of modification of end behavior.
When enough folks quit, I hope they do, but if they do not that should be their choice. What do we tax next? My vote is Diapers, tax the hell out of folks that want to have kids, they made a choice to have children Diapers should cost $75.00 a pack that would be fair and hey it would allow for an endless stream of income for the government to pay for the SCHIP program.
God I hope no politicians read the above paragraph – I was being a snit to prove a point and hopefully make some folks set back and thing about taxation for the modification of behavior. It really does affect us all.

I live in a state where the tobacco industry directly employes over 50,000 people. This tax increase that you love will affect more than "the poor" (which you don't like) and smokers (which you hate).
Let's see if you are still saying "I Love It" when they put a tax on motorcycle riders (which is also dangerous) to help support SCHIP. I have a better idea let's increase the tax by 158% on radio talk show hosts with one-eyed dogs.

"Intelligence equals success. Oh, wait, there's an entire class of exceedingly wealthy/successful people who quite clearly aren't intelligent, which entirely disproves my assertion. That's okay though, I'm a talk radio host, so I'll just handwave it away and dismiss it out-of-hand like I do all other facts that prove me wrong."

YES, CIGARS ARE INCLUDED. Rich folk like me who enjoy a nice Rocky Patel Sun Grown Toro now and then are now paying between 40 cents and 70 cents more per cigar.

The good thing about this tax is that many people will quit smoking because of it.

The BAD thing is---when the Fed doesn't receive enough revenue from it to amply satisfy the SCHIP program, where-oh-where do you think they're going to find the rest of the funds they need?

That's right---FROM YOU!

Unfortunately, cigars are not excluded from this tax hike. So, one of my small luxuries just got even more expensive. And for those who may ask: no, Swisher Sweets, Phillies, and Black and Mild are not cigars.

I'm going to take up smoking so I can appear to be wealthy. That's the way it is in Canada where cigarette taxes have been high forever.

Actually Obama did this to give him incentive to quit.

Reading your comments on Smoking like this re-enforces why I quit. You really helped me, thanks Neal. 64 Days and Counting!

In this missive, it is stated that "poor people" were the Obama supporters, implying that higher-income people ("the successful") did not vote for Obama.

Actually, exit polls revealed that those with household incomes of $200,000+ voted 52%-46% for Obama. Google "2008 vote by demographic". The figures come from Edison Media Research/Mitofsky International, the dominant source of such data for many media outlets, including Fox News.

By the way, those with advanced degrees went for Obama 58-40.

Facts suck when they run against the themes advanced on a near-daily basis, don't they?

It looks like it took a Democrat to have the thingies to stand up to the tobacco industry. This is just a tax on the stupid, good for Obama. They should raise the tax on cigarettes, guns, and alcohol more and more and lower the tax on people who care about their own(and their family's) general welfare

But Nancy Pelosi needs these folks to smoke, and smoke more. How else is she going to pay for SCHIP. Thats where the funds are to go to from the coffin nail tax increase. That and the 6 billion a year from Phillip Morris in corporate taxes, and the states need the money to from the master settlement to balance their budgets. Oh woe is Nancy, they need to tax the evil rich more to make up for the lost coffin nail revenue!