Reader comments
Huntsman wants hefty smoke tax

sure, let's tax smokers... their only the underacheivers of society, let them pay for everything. Hey i got an idea, sense I don't have kids, why should I pay for the schools.. I don't use them, let's tax parent's per kid in school to pay for the education they recieve. This country was founded on the tabacco industry, these attempts to kill it with taxes is un-american!

So let's see if I have this right. We charge people more to get them to quit? When they quit, the tax will have to be raised even more because there are fewer and fewer smokers. Eventually, the last smoker will be paying what? $500 million for a pack of cigarette? Good plan.

hey, I would LOVE to have "fun health care system reform"! Let's do it!

I think increasing the tax on alchol would be even better! Drinkers are the real under achievers in society!

Great comments by both Chri and Im quitting! Very good points made by both!

Boooo, smokers pay enough already (in all kinds of ways) and save the state untold healthcare dollars by not living to be 100.

The "public health police" is the new "morality police."

Yeah, great idea to eliminate the state sales tax on food and let the Utahns get even FATTER. Make it so they can

afford to buy twice as many bags of potato chips. Let's increase the obesity in Utah. Just what we need. I have

never lived in a state where there are so many fat people. What are THEIR health risks costing us?

Hey Gov, why don't you levy a hefty tax on all of the overweight Utahns?

Or levy a hefty tax on the drivers of gas guzzling mini vans and SUV's. They use up more than their share of fossil

fuels and over pollute the air. They are not environmentally friendly - just look out your window and see the nasty

air they have created up and down the I-15 corridor.

You and your supporters don't want to pay for smokers' health issues. Well I don't want to pay for FAT Utahns'

health issues!

And I don't like the mini van and SUV drivers nastying up the air I breathe.

So what are you going to do about THEM?

How can you claim that smokers are any worse than FAT Utahns and SUV air polluters???

I think it's a great idea if it would work. I'm all for it anyway, food tax will be gone. But it won't work because smokers can quite easily get their smokes from the internet or from other states. They'll just buy a year supply when they are out of town.

I'm a 25 year old conservative, LDS person in Utah.

And I think this idea stinks. Consider what's happening:
The majority of people in Utah are contributing to a necessary tax via food purchases. People who don't purchase food in Utah are exempt from the *burden* of whatever this tax is paying for.

Governor Huntsman's proposal to raise a $0.70 tax to $3.00 to relieve the majority of Utah from this tax is really unfair. Smoker or not, he's talking about taking a responsibility that all utahns have, and placing that burden solely on smokers. Weak sauce Governor Huntsman.

This is a ludicrous plan, if the governor want a health tax then make every one pay a health tax. And even make it adjustable to the number of people in a family. Add it to the state income tax returns. Utah is already at the bottom of the list for annual income so lets tax us some more. Sales tax on food is only paid by those that don't qualify for welfare or receive subsistance from the state. But using a cigarette tax to blame and force it on a few is unfair taxation and without representation. Smokers are not the cause of everyones health issues, its everything else in enviornmnet, diet, and air quality. So why are only the smokers being considered the source of everybody that gets sick? I wish government would get off this vendetta of punishing smokers with excessive taxation. Health taxes should be paid by every person living in Utah, even the illegals. If the governor wants to make up some shortfalls then he should start eforcing income tax revenues from illegals and their employers. I'm tired of the fraud and tax evasion that business is using to employ illegals.

When I used to smoke, I was standing at the trax station, just outside the platform, where you are supposed to smoke and a woman walked by and happily said "Thank you for standing here!". I assumed that she had meant that it was nice that a smoker had enough courtesy to follow the clearly posted rules as she knew that most smokers were not that great of people, but she was letting me know that I was one of the good ones. But when you assume you well.. you know. So I just responded: "It's no problem, Gotta stand somewhere!"

I kind of doubt that most Deseret News readers will understand my point but if you do, thanks! You're one of the good ones!

This is a positive step for Utah, I would like to know whether Utah puts cancer images caused by smoking on the cigarette packets or places cigarettes under the shop counters out of the view of children?

No, Cri's comment is NOT a good one! We all benefit from good schools, whether we realize it or not. The kids in school today may be the ones who find a cure for cancer or develp ways to produce more food more cheaply or find ways to stop global warming. They may become the doctors who save your life or that of those of your children or grandchildren. They may become world leaders who find ways to establish peace among warring nations.

Good schools help the economy. New companies examine the quality of area schools when deciding where to be based or where to move. Home buyers look at the quality of schools when deciding where to buy.

Good schools help build a community spirit and bring people together. They create a spirit of local pride that spreads throughout the community and helps create pride in homes and other establishments, thereby upgrading the environment.

Good schools have an enormous impact on the lives of ALL of us, whether we have kids in schools or not.

Yeah, there are a lot of health problems associated with obesity, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't work on any other public health issues until that is solved. The fewer people who smoke the healthier we will all be.

As an ex smoker for 20 years, I would have quite earlier but the people in this state, despite what they say, don't believe this is a health issue, it's a moral issue because THEY are not allowed to smoke.

The same thing with drinking. None of this bloviating will make a smoker quit or a drunk stop drinking. And if people want to smoke they will buy them from out of state or pay the tax. You can't stop until you have the motivation to do that, and the doctors SHOULD know it.

Sure put a tax on the cigarettes, but it should go to the schools, and when I mean schools, I mean to the kids, teachers, books not to the administrators who know nothing.

And some have a point. There are many obese people in the state so tax all of the soft drinks and snacks, but let the food alone.

Taxing cigarettes in order to make it prohibitively expensive to smoke.

The natural result will be people quitting, which will lower the tax revenues.

Does anyone here really believe the state will just let that money go and not try to make it up elsewhere?

I would be in favor of eliminating cigarette or smokers tax ONLY if smokers were NOT eligible for medicare or medicaid.

Smoking is just plain stupid. I am tired of paying escalating costs of medicare and medicaid for people who do stupid things. SMOKING and SECOND HAND SMOKE causes more medical problems, costs than anything else.

Tobacco company executives are great examples of modern day evil. They knowingly added addictive subtances to their product. If our politicians today had any gonads, they would make the practice of selling addictive substances illegal except by presciption.... Oh we already have that for controlled substances, since tobacco is addictive and harmful, why isn't it a controlled substance like the painkiller Loritab??? Easy answer - tobacco companies put money in our elected officials pockets... I guess the evil aspect is contagious.

As a physician who works to help people kick the tobacco habit daily, I support any initiative (or tax) that disincentivizes smoking.
Regardless of the food tax, or whether this will help the state financially, there will be great benefits from raising the tax.

Most smokers hate the idea, and that's great! It's great because smoking is a tough habit to quit and most smokers I have helped quit needed something strong to motivate them (death of a loved one, diagnosis of cancer or heart disease, children with severe asthma). A hefty cost will help!

I know there are many people in denial about the ill effects of smoking, but I see them daily, and they are a horrible burden on smokers first, their families second, and last of all society.

Tobacco related diseases cost each Utah and each American citizen hundreds of dollars per year.

We all bear the burden of tobacco use.

When you look at longevity statistics, the #1 thing an individual can do to have a long life is to Never Smoke (or quit smoking to extend lifespan). The #2 is to exercise for 30min daily.

Raise the tax!

Smoke shops in all the border towns surrounding Utah will soon be where the real money is.

I think it is just a stick in the eye of our new President.