ASH UK claims that raising the tax on cigarettes above the current rate of inflation will "help" (read "force") smokers to quit and won’t encourage smuggling. Wrong! Whenever the price of a pack of cigarettes go up, smuggling goes up–it has again and again and again.<br type="_moz" />
Menthol cigarettes represent less than 1% of the total amount of cigarettes sales. Advocates say that menthol cigarettes persuade young people to smoke. This is a publicity stunt pure and simple with no basis to support the allegations.<br type="_moz" />
Congratulations, anti-tobacco. Someone has actually gone through the trouble to create an online game where the objective is to assassinate smokers.<br type="_moz" />
<p>Belgium’s top court decided Tuesday to widen the country’s smoking ban in public spaces to cover all cafes and the kingdom’s nine casinos from July 1. Smoking is still allowed in well ventilated rooms.</p>
Considering the study came from the John Hopkins <u>Bloomberg </u>School of Public Health, they have finally figured out that increasing the tax on cigarettes forces people to find cheaper cigarettes on the Internet.<br type="_moz" />
From Danish blogger Klaus K comes an in-depth analysis by Niels Ipsen and Klaus Kjellerup regarding the benefits of smoking; translated from Danish into English. <br />
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"After 40 years of scientific research on the effects of nicotine, researchers now say that they have sound scientific proof that smoking and nicotine have a significant positive effect on human brain performance."<br />
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This well referenced and researched article is certain to be of great interest to FORCES devotees, as well as any tobacco user.<br type="_moz" />
Senate Bill S. 2981 would add an additional $1.65 tax to the already staggering $4.35 the state levies in taxes on a pack of cigarettes. The tax hike last year saw sales increase in Vermont and Pennsylvania. New Jersey, New Hampshire and Rhode Island are considering reducing their cigarette tax to raise revenues. <br />
Opposition has been raised by the Republicans to increase the state tax on tobacco by $1.00 per pack. This new tax would be for a road construction project. Everyone uses the roads, smokers should not be paying for road construction.<br type="_moz" />
An update to developments from Edmund Contoski regarding his enlightening series of FORCES columns, “<a href="http://amlibpub.blogspot.com/2010/10/monetary-mess-dollar-gold-and-you-part_09.html">Monetary Mess, the Dollar, Gold—and You</a>”.
A new study claims that Smoking causes Diabetes. However, the author said "noted that the study can’t prove that smoking causes diabetes." That won’t matter because it will be quoted as being true even though it can’t be proven. Epidemiology is theoretical, not clinical. As this story progresses it will be positioned as factual even though it isn’t.<br />