TOBACCO TAXES WON'T FIX ANYTHING

First, let's dispense with assorted statistics. Did you know that, there
are more ex-smokers than smokers, that less than 2 percent of the
cigarettes consumed are by teens, that since Bill Clinton became president,
high school senior smoking has increased from 17.2 percent to 22.2 percent
in spite of the demonizing of Joe Camel, and that teen drug use has
increased by 78 percent during his tenure? If you're looking for some
logical rationale other than a camel caricature, they offer none.

No one argues that smoking can be injurious to your health and is so stated
on every carton and pack. The targets are teen smokers, so the solution
proffered is to impose a punitive tax to discourage smoking. Want to bet
that teens by hook or crook will persist?

So much for evasive rhetoric. Let's be honest, this is a smoke screen
designed to raise bushels of money in the vicinity of $516 billion to pay
for pet federal spending projects essentially raised on the backs of
middle-to low-income wage earners. Look at it as wealth redistribution from
the poorer to the richer.

I'm not advocating smoking. We all agree that smoking is a potential health
hazard. If so, why not outlaw tobacco outright as we do with marijuana,
cocaine, heroin, et al. No, we can't do that because we want the money. If
we do, then we have to also take care of the currently subsidized farmers
and displaced manufacturing employees and lose all of the revenue currently
generated from tobacco products.

Consider this, let's say the ploy works and smokers quit in droves. Then
the new found and current revenues dry up and the pet spending programs run
out of funds. Guess who will be called on to cover the shortfall? Then
again, with all the born-again non-smokers, the senior citizen base will
grow dramatically, straining an already tenuous Social Security and
Medicare systems. The result will be decreased benefits and more taxes.
This is almost as bad as fooling around with Mother Nature.

RAY DORBOLO Everett