Freedom to choose!
I am a smoker, it is my choice, I dont smoke around other people and if it comes down to it will be happy to pay for my own health care. Maybe Jelly Donunts and cream buns should of had a huge tax increase, think its discusting that Tariana Turia sits thier calling for smokes to be banned and the cost of health care when instead of putting in the effort she just uses a small fraction of her ridiculous wages to pay for her $28,000 Tummy Tuck. All this crap about labour being the nanny state look whos telling us what we can and cant do. Oh and drinkers beware! I thought it was odd that raising taxes on alcohol had been mentioned then all of a sudden smaokes are nailed, maybe its so when they hit the Drinkers in the pocket they cant turn around and say, well what about the ciggerettes. I say its time we stood up and fight back, great to see the 50,000+ turn out for the No Mining March. Lastly to Tariana Turia, sit up the back, keep ya mouth shut (incase those cream donuts fall in) and stop telling us how we should all be healthy like you Pfffft what a joke, no1 voted for you to be having such access to important issues, oh and watch that weight or its back to the TUCK SHOP for You!
Hold on, did they put the price up because 5000 people die every year from smoking, awwww, they're just looking out for us. Wait, more than 2000 kiwis die from type 2 diabetes and obesity issues so why in gods name is it still cheaper to buy 2 litres of coke than 2 litres of milk? When are the fat people going to be persecuted for costing us more than 400 million a year in health costs?
Yes, the health 'Nazis' are at it again! The pure unadulterated manifestation of the 'Ministry of We-Know-Best' - telling everyone what to do in the name of a choice-less, we know best. The hugely overestimated risk of smoking coupled with the minute, hardly measurable risks of second hand smoke (very considerably < than any alcohol consumption, or driving your car for example) provide fuel for their self-righteous modern day hypocritical puritanism. If everyone saw comparative risks and understood relatively risks then they'd be able to make informed decisions. True freedom and self determination lie in education. While they are at it, they must ban alcohol - social, health and economic costs dwarf smoking to irrelevance and they definitely should ban being overweight, driving cars and well basically, everything......ban life...then there's zero risk of anything, including death. However, pause for thought....you get what you elect, so why complain?
In the United States it was TEA, in India it was Cloth, in China it was Rice., no matter what the item, when your government starts running itself through over-taxation it is time to speak LOUDLY....
This will stimulate criminally minded individuals and groups into action. An increase in crimes like aggrevated robbery and burglary of tobacco suppliers would be one example of the effect this policy will have. When prohibitive policies go too far, the criminal factor becomes progressively more and more involved in the market because they suddenly become more lucurative. This means more prison cells and more actual victims of crime.If crime does not go down in the next six months, but rather increases as I fear it will, will the serious questions start to be asked about the faith we have in certain ideas on law and order? Or will there be another re-doubling of present responses hoping yet again for the opposite outcome?Once upon a time, between 50 and 60% of the kiwi population smoked tobacco. Now that is down to 21%. This change was not achieved with prison time, fines for smoking, or even the death penalty. People have received the message that smoking is not widely acceptable as a form of drug use, isn't this enough lest we risk harming smokers and their families in addition to the already widely known inherant risks to smoking tobacco?
Govt better start looking at building all those new prisons because I will be buying my smokes off the black market when this happens. How many MORE robberies will there be where they are targeting cigarettes and alcohol.Good on you Turia, you've put alot of thought into this one. This is for your own agenda, govt makes a fortune in tax from smokers. Get out of your car and walk... your pollution is doing more harm to my lungs than my smoking is doing to yours. It's p***ing me off that you keep trying to play god and you can guarantee that my vote won't be going your way. And John Key needs to stop being a 'brown tongue' by catering to the Maori party.
LOL!The government is enjoying playing GOD again!I agree with Chris's comments-why not ban them all together?I'll tell you why....they enjoy taking all your hard earned money.Alcohol will be the next to go up-I promise!So, New Zealanders, enjoy what's left of your freedoms,because pretty soon,we will have none!WAKE UP!!!!You are being had!
Katy, the government collected more revenue from taxation on smoking than smokers cost the government per year in health care.ASH estimates the cost to be 1.5 Billion but they are a little extreme and probably have trouble differentiating between what is caused by tobacco and what is caused by alcohol.Higher taxation just means extra money for the government to spend, however the joke is this... get rid of smokers completely and the government actually loses money.Then its going to come looking for the lost revenue from everyone else.Perhaps I will quit, just so that non smokers will have to pay higher taxes.For me its still a savings, the government stops getting my $30.00 per week and I have to pay an extra 10 bucks in tax.While I save $20.00 overall non smokers just lose an extra $10.00 which means I am still going to be $30.00 better off than a non smoker.The governments going on and on and on about the need for revenue, this is just another way to get it.. its not justifiable... not with the logic Key is using, he needs to be a little bit honest and call this what it is... a revenue drive.Oh, and if you make smoking illegal.. it becomes just like any other illegal substance... more commonly used than when it was legal because people always want what they arent allowed to have.Particularly children.
Smokes are killers,, and it's a hard thing to give up,,maybe if they were taxed at a higher price it may force many of the habit,, and force me to save so as i can buy another packet as i love em..