Quote:
Originally Posted by Ledgem
Forgive me if this sounds cruel, but this isn't about saving those who are addicted. It's about creating barriers to entry for those who haven't started smoking. I've seen plenty of smokers start when they're in their teens. The teenage years are a time when people are most vulnerable to peer pressure and image marketing, two aspects that cigarette companies strongly take advantage of. The teenage years are also a time when many people do not have much disposable income.
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I personally do not approve of the high tax rates on cigarettes. Like the Lottery, it's a horribly profitable venture that comes out of the poorest in the nation. It's the kind of taxation that tax brackets and progressive tax measures are supposed to replace.
Everybody starts small, most people with one cig from peer pressure, then another as they continue to hang out and etc. No matter how high you jack the price on cigs (reasonably), most teens can afford one pack a day, even at say $7 a pack (50% increase). Either you stop there, and are a social smoker, or you get addicted. Either way, demand becomes inelastic, people don't care about price either because they don't buy much, or they need that fix. The incentives for entry are social, not economical, as a lot of people mentioned, they aren't cheap to begin with.
Assuming that you do increase prices enough to drive off most teens. Who's to say that tobacco isn't going to go underground? It's not an easy plant to raise, but with modern fertilizers, it's not out of the question. There is no regulation, and no purity standard in that case. Smoking becomes even more dangerous. Just look at all the cases where government bans an addictive substance, this is the outcome.