This is just another example of the anti-smoking Nazis pushing their agenda of trying to effectively outlaw something that is completely legal and has been for the entire history of this country and, in fact, the world.

They attempt to bully and threaten to get their way, yet never have I seen them make a sincere effort to have smoking and the production of smoking materials made illegal, likely because they know there's no chance of that happening (Let's remember how successful prohibition was nearly 100 years ago).

This is what has historically been called the tyranny of the minority.

This takes off of "Magicmark11" --read it first.>>>>
Well, MAYBE. But I see a vast shift in this type of poll. We're over taxed, because we're over-dependant on tax supplied goodies, and want the "other guy" to pay so we can have relief. I no longer see the anti-smoking Nazi's here, I see the DC Nazi's saying, that they've found the way to get Americans to accept more taxes -- "pit one against the other, and they can gripe all they want, blaming each other and not us in Washington" THIS IS what is known as the tyranny of the minority --that we have elected.

One thing will save us from THEIR tyranny: rid ourselves of all the taxes THEY have imposed, and elect ONE tax that WE CONTROL not them. It's called, www.FairTax.org !

I'm all for taxing a health-threatening luxury item, but it really does seem like there are other places they could (and should) tax first.

Funny, I don't see any proposed tax increases on Alcohol, why's that?

Yes, I'm a smoker - but fair is fair. DWI/Alcoholism causes as many issues as smokers - and me smoking doesn't kill anyone other than myself, unlike DWI.

This isn't about smoking or health or any of the talking points fronted by our friends from the left. It's all about TAXES, period. The more of our money that Shelly Silver and the NYC crowd can confiscate from the citizenry, the longer the fat cats from the Demonrats party can stay in control.

Stop whining! Smoking is not a necessity people, it is a choice. If you don’t want to pay the extra money then stop smoking or move to a different state. We all pay taxes on everything in this God forsaken state. Why is it that I filled up my gas tank in NJ this weekend at 2.99 a gallon? Taxes are killing us in this state and more than just the smokers are feeling it. I have to drive to work to get a pay check…which is also taxed! You don’t have to light up, it is after all your CHOICE!

Yeah, but much of what we're taxed on is our choice, and yet it's not taxed to the point where the tax exceeds the actual cost of the item itself. If that were the case, gasoline would be about $5 a gallon instead of $3.50.

I'm not saying cigarettes shouldn't be taxed; I'm just saying they should be taxed in the same proportion as everything else. After all, they are still a legal item to sell and possess.

If you don't want them in people's hands, then make them illegal (although as I said in a previous comment, I'm guessing such an effort would meet with little success).

Lets be real here people on this issue. Has anyone ever realized that this "tax" is always the FIRST to get pushed through, even when a state budget yas yet to be approved? The awnser is really very simple, this extra way of obtaining more capital gain offers the path of least resistance that is exactlly what the polliticians who pull the strings look for.

Perfect example, how many tax increases have there been on alcohol that anyone can remember? Not to many if memory serves me right, reason being is that local business owners here and in NYC would be in an uproar. This would be a publicized call out on how a tax increase on alcohol would drive a individuals buisness down, hence loss of profit. Now with the economy being as fragile as it is these days, this would be a black eye on the polliticians who supported it. That avenue is not gonna happen!

So why cigarettes? Well pollitician know that due to the mass addiction of nicotine related products ie. cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars etc. this is an "easy" way of making a few extra million each quarter. You will not see smokers picketing outside the capital building on how this tax hurts thier budget, they'll just pony up the money and go get that pack, and the polliticians know this!

Me, I am a smoker yes I am, do I know the harmfull effects of smoking? Yes I do. And as any smoker will tell you, its extremly difficult to kick. So why not use this method of gaining money? In a polliticians eye, its a sure fire bet. But using an excuse to bolster schools and increase the state police budgets is nothing but a clever "smoke screen" if you ask me. What about land/school taxes that we pay each year? What about cuts in the state lotto system? These areas are already producing a LARGE fiscal budget for these programs each quarter, but lets increase the cig. tax and give it a pleasent sounding reason for doing so.

Well I'll be pursuing in ordering my cigs. duty free from reservations, as well im sure many others will. Its a sad day when you have to take out a loan to fill your car with gas, go grocery shopping, and now, just to get a pack of cigarettes.

Thanks NYS! Im afraid to see whats gonna happen next.

Check out the research on additional costs to health care caused by smoking and its affects alone. An article in today's paper states that American are spending an average of 28% of their income on healthcare. If you choose a risky lifestyle (obviously this includes more than cigarettes but at least cigarettes are a start) then you should be taking on more of the expense as a result of the risky behavior.

to believe that cigarette smoking affects only you is ignorance at its best.

perhaps the best approach would be to allow Health Insurers to double or more the policy costs for the insured should they choose to smoke. This way the excess money is guranteed to be kept within healthcare rather than whatever Pork spending the politicians choose.

They could even allow health insurers to outright cancel policies for smokers.

..even that doesnt work because the smokers would just rely on public assistance to pay for their health care.

Paul, I don't dispute what you are saying, but within that comment you make my argument for me.

"...obviously this includes more than cigarettes..."

Making one group a specific scapegoat is simply unfair. Given your argument, we should also place a similarly high tax on fast food, alcohol, motorcycles and anything else that elevates a person's health risks beyond the norm.

Do that, and I won't say a word about bumping up the cigarette tax. I'd love to see the kind of outrage that would be expressed if you try, however.

Discrimination -- even with the best of intentions -- is still discrimination. Just because smokers have become more and more a minority over the years doesn't give justification to unduly punish them for doing something that is totally legal.

I understand -- and even agree with -- the ban on smoking in public areas because that has a direct and involuntary effect on those who don't smoke. But using salacious tax hikes and other means simply to dissuade someone from doing what they have every right to do is simply wrong.

Discrimination? Are you serious? Unfair treatment of a group of people typically refers to things out of ones' control, such as race, color, gender, etc. I am so tired of people making bad decisions and then crying about the outcome. What part of life is fair and who gets to make the final decision in what is fair and what isn’t? Is it fair to a 2 year old whose lungs are effected by sitting in a car filled with billowing smoke that its parents are smokers? NO! Is it fair for me, a health conscious person to pay for the health costs of those lacking will power to quit their addiction? NO! Is it fair that I work 2 jobs to not be dependent on a system to take care of my needs, while others choose not to work and get health care for and food stamps for free? NO!
I feel pretty damn discriminated against myself working 70-90 hours a week and then being told my son doesn’t qualify for financial aid because I make too much money. Yet my taxes will pay for someone else’s kid to go to college who has decided not to work to better the lives of their family. I have a choice, I can continue to work and maintain a quality of life or become a victim that the system has wronged me, quit my jobs and get on the welfare bus.
Grow up, we all have to give up things we want in order to better ourselves and our society. I am tired of the poor me blame game. Smokers know they shouldn’t be smoking. I personally know how hard it is to kick the habit, but I also personally know it can be done if a person CHOOSES to do so. Life is a series of choices, some turn out good and some turn out bad. If you don’t like your circumstances then change them. But please quit complaining. No one held a gun to your head to make you start smoking. You paying for cigarettes is a consequence of a choice you made when you started smoking.
I don’t want to sound so harsh but this is exactly what is wrong with this country. People make bad choices, blame someone else for the outcome and feel like victims for the rest of their lives. This nonsense has to stop in order for us to get out of our current state of affairs. The world is too big to make everyone happy.

Honey, you sound like you could use a smoke.

I'm not asking anybody to take pity on me, and I'm not blaming anyone for the fact that I smoke except me. But until you can give me a valid reason why cigarettes AND ONLY CIGARETTES should be taxed as exorbitantly as they are, I'm going to say I and other smokers are being unfairly singled out.

What right do you and the other sanctimonious anti-smoking Nazis have to tell me I shouldn't be smoking? I'm sure many of you eat too much unhealthy food or don't exercise or drink too much alcohol, but it's smokers who are the bane of healthy Americans everywhere. Hell, I've seen some people who are among the leaders of the anti-smoking movement who are as big as a small country ... and they're telling me what I'M doing is unhealthy.

All I'm saying is, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, babe.

Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm NOT one of those people who freeload off the system. In my entire lifetime (nearly 50 years), I've spent exactly two months on any form of public assistance. So take your welfare bus and drive it you know where.

Mark, I understand your comments regarding fairness BUT...

that is strictly as it applies to things like additional healthcare etc.

when you look at a smokers behavior and how it DIRECTLY affects others around them... this is where I have an issue. How many of us non-smokers walk out a door in a public place into a cloud of smoke because these people are huddled there sucking down cigarettes like a group of crack whores. Not to mention that I end up hacking myself for a few minutes after wading through these areas. Its bad enough for me that I can tell when someone is smoking in the car ahead of me on a highway.

Mark your arguments can be made but at some point as a society there MUST be a cutoff as to what is acceptable and what isnt. This is where it gets very grey. I dont know the answer but its not like they banned cigarettes altogether. Regarding things like fast food etc. Did you know that some employers are now firing employees who are not exhibiting healthy lifestyles.

I think if you really take a look at what cigarettes not only do to you but others around you as well... this is something that should be illegal.

Regarding legality... slavery at one time was legal. Society grew up and realized the error in judgment.

Just because something is allowed... or legal... doesnt mean its right. but i do understand some of your argument... and again... you have to start somewhere.

Paul, your point is well taken, and I actually agree with you on the impact on others; that's why I said in a previous comment that I don't have any problem with the laws banning smoking in public places.

As to whether cigarettes should be banned or whether smoking is "right", that's obviously a judgment that needs to be made in Albany and Washington. I personally feel -- as I've said here many times -- that you shouldn't ban one unhealthy product without banning them all.

I definitely don't feel you can compare smoking to slavery -- although to those of us who have fought and fought to quit, it does feel like we're slaves to tobacco -- because, to quote a few other comments here, it is our choice to smoke, while slaves didn't really have a choice in the matter. And restricting where we're allowed to smoke limits the involuntary effect on those who don't smoke.