moiram@tektronix.UUCP (Moira Mallison ) (06/21/84)
I'm really going out a limb here, because this is based on fuzzy recollections,
but:
Bob Fishell suggests:
Anti-smoking legislation has less chance of passage than just increasing
the taxes on it even more. I'd favor a $2.00/pack Federal nuisance tax
on cigarettes, in addition to the already exhorbitant taxes on them now.
The tax would be collected by the manufacturer, and would only filter
(pun unintentional) down to the consumer through the usual chain of
middlemen. This would reduce black-marketeering.
The money collected could be used to fund cancer research and go toward
anti-smoking information campaigns.
Doesn't the federal government subsidize the tobacco industry to a fairly
substantial extent? How about just re-channeling those tax dollars to fund
cancer research. Tobacco is grown in a relatively unpopulous region of the
country. Legislation on such issues as drunk driving shows what can happen
when ordinary people bring pressure to bear on their representatives in
Congress. And while I'm mildly tolerant of smokers, I could get steamed up
about subsidizing their filthy habit!
Moira Mallison
tektronix!moiram