By: Male60TN on 2/4/07
With all due respect, I suggest that an increase on the gasoline tax would raise more revenue for the state; almost everyone would contribute, making it a fairer and more just tax. Consider the chemicals that are "dumped" into our atmosphere daily by our automobiles! (Talk about 2nd hand smoke!) Now, while the cost of gasoline is down, would be a "convenient" time to increase the tax on gasoline and would also serve as an incentive to seek the development of alternative (and safer)fuels. Besides, the tax on cigarettes...by your own admissision...is shrinking due to fewer and fewer smokers. It will probably continue to shrink in the future also. Taxing gasoline instead, would serve to break us from our "addiction" to fossil fuels; a serious concern in this time of "global warming".
James Osborne

PS: What do you suggest giving smokers in return for increasing taxes? It is my experience that most "non-smokers" would deny even basic health care for those of us who chose to smoke.

By: DMW37128 on 2/4/07
there are fewer smokers? Gosh, from the cigarette butts along the sides of roads either there are more smokers or smokers are trashy people.

By: titansone on 2/4/07
The state tax is one cent per cigarette. In the last fiscal year, the state collected $124.9 million dollars in tobacco tax. Some bills in the legislature right now would raise this to a nickle per cigarette. Not hard to see this would raise a bundle of money!

By: llp0606 on 2/5/07
It is time for our elected official to finally do the will of their constituents. Polls suggest that an overwhelming majority of Tennessean support anti smoking laws and higher taxes. What the problem? Make it happen! I am so sick and tired of our elected official serving special interest groups/corporations rather that the people who elected them. Sure they (elected official throw us a bone every once in a while but for the most part they serve special interest not their constituents. There is no question that smoking KILLS !! Elected officials do something!

By: organguy23 on 2/6/07
Perhaps it would be good for our legislators to learn how to live on the money which is already extorted from the taxpayers instead of using cigarettes (or whatever the current excuse may be) as a way to sneak in yet another tax. I am and always have been a nonsmoker, but I think the attack on smoking in public places is just another way for our enlightened legislators to attack private property. If a privately-owned business wishes to provide a smoking facility, how dare the little Hitlers in Nashville even suggest that in their wisdom (which we believe to be a myth anyway) that they have the right to dictate to a business owner how he treats smoking. In case any of these "wise ones" has forgotten, smoking is a legal activity. Deal with real issues like illegal invaders - oops, I mean "undocumented workers" - instead of this smoke screen for another tax for our legislators to steal from us.

By: Boo on 2/7/07
I guess when cigarettes get so expensive that us smokers can't afford them we will just have to settle for going to the nearest liquor store, buying some cheap booze, getting in our vehicles, and plowing into some innocent person and killing him that way!

By: GrumpaEd on 2/8/07
Cigarettes will never get so expensive that smokers can't afford them. I smoked for over 40 years, quitting in '88. I started when packs were ten or fifteen cents. When I quit, for health reasons - not cost, they were selling at $1.25/$1.50. If one wants to continue smoking, cost is not a factor.

By: Nrider on 2/9/07
I agree with Boo and GrumpaEd. I've never heard of a traffic accident caused by excessive smoking. :-) Trying to tax people into quiting is just some kind of cop out. If your going to tax one evil tax them all. What about booze, wait we can't do that our senators need that for relaxation and dinner parties. Ya know we could even do those lottery tickets. What about these sporting organizations that have helped raised our taxes to pay their arenas and such. The Deals that are made for business to come in to our area tax free for years.
We get our taxes raised to provide services for them.

Sorry I'm on a tangent. (btw I'm a ex smoker)

By: Oblio on 2/10/07
If they want to stop people from smoking they should pass a law and get it done. This nonsense about raising the cost of cigarettes to discourage smoking among the young is as stupid as it is dishonest.

On a lighter note - explain where all that extra revenue comes from if the tax prevents persons from buying cigarettes. Something doesn't quite add up.

By: xxycm on 5/31/07
Raising taxes is not to help smokers stop smoking, some lobbiest pays good money to congress to vote their way. If govt. were really concered with our health issuses smoking and drinking would be abolished, but then there would be not tax money coming in on those products, and it's a shame when you buy health insurance it cost you more if you smoke but drinking is just fine. In Michigan we pay an average of $54.00 per carton, give or take when you add the sales tax!