How Cigarette Taxes Affect Smokers

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How Cigarette taxes affect smokers Imposing cigarette taxes on consumers ask many questions. Do they not have a constitutional right to make up their own minds to quit? Should they have the right to harm their bodies and the people around them by continuing to smoke? Should the low-income smokers with no insurance continue to receive free health care? Cigarette taxes were placed into effect by the government to achieve two social objectives. The first objective is to reduce the number of people who smoke. By issuing the cigarette tax, the government hoped the higher price of a pack of cigarettes would convince people to quit. The next objective was just another way for the government to raise more revenue. As we all know, the government loves to raise taxes to support their social programs. Indiana Governor Frank O’Bannon proclaimed, “Raising cigarette taxes is a win-win situation” young teenagers are less likely to start smoking and adult smokers are more likely to quit when the tax is higher”. (Patrick McMahon) What about the health benefits when smokers finally quit smoking and why is this important to all of us? Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. Assuming current smoking trends continue, as many as 650 million of the people alive today will die from smoking-related disease. Within several decades, 10 million people will die yearly from smoking-related disease, making smoking the largest cause of death throughout the world. The healing process of the human body begins within twenty minutes after you quit smoking. Second, your blood pressure decreases and pulse rate drops. After eight hours, the carbon monoxide levels in the blood stream drops and oxygen levels increase to a normal level. Finally, after 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack decreases (Terry Martin). All of the above information is important to all of us as

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