...taken to this habit; worldwide, there are approximately one billion smokers (“A brief history of smoking - Cancer Council NSW,” 2011). There are approximately one billion smokers because of an extremely addicting substance called nicotine, found within each cigarette. Once a person is sucked into the habit of smoking, it will be hard for them to quit. Smoking is a source of great controversy, and most individuals either support it or oppose it. Those who oppose formed numerous laws that forbid smoking in specific public places like restaurants, bars, parks, and in some cities, even street corners. Individuals against smoking see smoking as slow death that steals years of a person's life. They want to see smoking be banned for these important reasons; they are health and social problems, as well as a financial burden on the government. The other side of the argument is that smoking should not be banned. They believe that smokers already pay high taxes so why make them suffer even more by taking it away. Other reasons that smoking should not be banned include; clubs and bars would go out of business, smokers would smoke more at home than in public places, and another prohibition could rise up like in the 1920s with the ban on drinking. Smoking is such a hard and dangerous habit to quit and this is why most people want it banned. Smoking can be dangerous not only for the smoker, but also for those around the smoker. Secondhand smoke is the...
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...Abstract Cigarette and Tobacco taxation has been a hot topic for years. Typically, the taxing of this product is accepted as there are health concerns associated with the consumption of tobacco products. The concept of raising cigarette taxes aligns with goals of increasing revenue for local, state and federal governments, and also works to increase the overall public health of the country. Although the taxation is widely accepted, there are concerns associated with who the taxation effects primarily, how funds are being utilized and issues with meeting budget goals with the earned revenue. This paper addresses each of these topics in an effort to identify the effectiveness of cigarette and tobacco taxation. Introduction The concern associated with the health risks of tobacco use and cigarettes began as early as the 1930’s. The ill effects of tobacco were studied by epidemiologists in long term case studies to assess the increase of lung cancer mortality to smoking. The findings were considered merely casual by Surgeon General Leroy Burney in 1957. As a few years passed, the concern between the relationship of smoking and health grew. This led to The American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association , The National Tuberculosis Association and the American Public Health Association collaborating together to address a letter to President Kennedy. In this letter they asked for a call to action on the issue of cigarette smoking. The Kennedy Administration...
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...Tobacco and Why Sin Taxes Should Be Increased ENG: 122 English Composition II James Welsh March 11, 2013 Tobacco and Why Sin Taxes Should Be Increased Tobacco may indeed come in many shapes and forms, but they all pose very high health risk to not only the consumer but also anyone around during consumption. Due to numerous toxins found in tobacco products as well as the help of science the government believes it will be wise to increase “Sin Taxes”. With the increase of such taxes healthcare will not only be more affordable, but tobacco products will less likely be purchased. Thus cutting the cost that the government pays in medical care for a smoker. While many people will argue that increasing “Sin Taxes” on tobacco products isn’t beneficial since smoking is an addiction. (Talylor, 2009) The Forms of Tobacco and The Contents While tobacco has many forms they fall into two main categories Smoking Tobacco and Smokeless Tobacco. (Connecticut Department of Health, 2013). Some people believe that some forms are safer then others, the fact remains that there are no safe forms of tobacco and they all pose addiction as well as health problems. Falling under the category of smoking tobacco: Bidis, Cigarettes, Cigars (cigarillos and little cigars), Electronic Cigarette, Hookah, Kreteks and Pipes. Bidis and Kreteks have a higher concentration of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide than the conventional cigarette. (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Bidi smoking...
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...ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS T3.2013 Assignment Due date: Nature: Assignment Overview: Monday, January 13, 2014. Individual assignment. This assignment is partly based on the attached article published in The Australian on April 26, 2012 entitled “Poor bear brunt of ‘nanny taxes’” by Adam Creighton and a paper written by Sam Oldfield on August 7, 2013, “Cigarette Tax Hike Defies Economic Logic.” Please read the articles carefully before attempting the questions. You will be required to demonstrate your understanding of economic concepts taught in the unit and relate them to the cases in the articles. This assignment is designed to encourage you to think about the applications of economic concepts learned in this unit to real world scenarios. Based on the attached Rubric, your assignment will be graded on your use of appropriate economic theory and concepts, clarity of exposition and overall quality of your answers. Your answers should follow “Guide to assignment writing and referencing”, available at this link: http://www.deakin.edu.au/currentstudents/assets/resources/study-support/study-skills/assignref.pdf. Answer all questions. Limit the total word count of your assignment to less than 3,000 words. Depth is encouraged over breadth: that is, it is more important that you demonstrate you understand a concept fully, rather than talk about 3 related concepts only cursorily. You are encouraged to use diagrams/examples in your answers when appropriate. 40 marks. Allocation as indicated...
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...Cigarettes, Cognac & Chemotherapy: Taxed for Being Human Sandra M. Johnson South University-Richmond Cigarettes, Cognac & Chemotherapy: Taxed for Being Human “Sin taxes" should not be increased to help with medical costs because all medical care is not a direct result of these "sins" (consuming alcohol and tobacco), it's discriminatory, and all taxpayers should contribute to the overall reduction of health care costs. Throughout history, the government has taxed America’s guilty pleasures. The Tea Act of 1773 ignited the Boston Tea Party and subsequent American Revolution (History.com, 2009, para #1) and the ratification of the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) spawned illegal production and sale of liquors through bootlegging (History.com, 2009, para #1). It would appear that the American people had the spirit to fight for their freedom to consume what was deemed ‘immoral’ or at least find a way around the laws. In this day and age, however, there aren’t too many revolutions going on. Most ‘sinners’ will just deal with the extra costs rather than band together and storm Capitol Hill. There is a vast array of medical conditions that require medical care. Outside of those that may be connected to alcohol and tobacco use, there are also acquired conditions (STDs, tuberculosis, etc.), hereditary conditions (certain cancers, genetic deformities, etc.), and general injuries that have nothing to do with it. For example, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention...
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...Cigarettes, Cognac & Chemotherapy: Taxed for Being Human Sandra M. Johnson South University-Richmond Cigarettes, Cognac & Chemotherapy: Taxed for Being Human “Sin taxes" should not be increased to help with medical costs because all medical care is not a direct result of these "sins" (consuming alcohol and tobacco), it's discriminatory, and all taxpayers should contribute to the overall reduction of health care costs. Throughout history, the government has taxed America’s guilty pleasures. The Tea Act of 1773 ignited the Boston Tea Party and subsequent American Revolution (History.com, 2009, para #1) and the ratification of the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) spawned illegal production and sale of liquors through bootlegging (History.com, 2009, para #1). It would appear that the American people had the spirit to fight for their freedom to consume what was deemed ‘immoral’ or at least find a way around the laws. In this day and age, however, there aren’t too many revolutions going on. Most ‘sinners’ will just deal with the extra costs rather than band together and storm Capitol Hill. There is a vast array of medical conditions that require medical care. Outside of those that may be connected to alcohol and tobacco use, there are also acquired conditions (STDs, tuberculosis, etc.), hereditary conditions (certain cancers, genetic deformities, etc.), and general injuries that have nothing to do with it. For example, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention...
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...Cigarette Taxes: Do They Have An Effect On Reducing The Demand For Them? By Lenora Walker Virginia College June 02, 2014 Cigarette Taxes: Do They Have an Effect on Reducing the Demand for Them? Cigarette taxes may stop some from smoking but in the long run people will find a way to keep smoking. There are some that are quitting for health reasons. In 2005 there was a decline between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent. If cigarette taxes are earmarked then it can cause problems in funding education, health services, or other programs that will most likely grow over time. Policymakers and advocates should consider if a cigarette tax increase is necessary. In 2009 President Obama asked for a budget request to increase cigarette taxes from $1.01 per pack to $1.95 per pack. In 2015 the Federal tobacco tax would be indexed for inflation. Researchers have found that by increasing the real cigarette price by 10 percent would reduce the number of young-adults smokers by 3.5 percent and the number of kids by 6 or 7 percent. The calls to the national quit line have increased by 30% in the past 12 months after they compared it in the 12 months before. Increasing the cigarette taxes has had an effect on non-smokers by reducing the second hand exposure. Studies have showed that people of the low socioeconomics look at price more than the general population. With a regressive tax the poor is the one who pays the higher percentage through their income taxes. The economic analysis has determined...
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...Should Electronic Cigarettes Be Regulated As Traditional Cigarettes? Recently, there has been a national discourse concerning the extent to which the government should meddle in the regulation and taxation of electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes. Some states are in favor of taxation on these products, but others are not. Anti-smoking advocates push for more restrictions and higher taxes for the product, but many others disagree, arguing that e-cigarettes are a healthy alternative to traditional cigarettes. As of right now, the Food and Drug Administration has no regulative control over e-cigarettes because they are currently not considered to be medical products. E-cigarettes are battery-powered substitutes which heat up liquid nicotine into a vapor. As such, they do not contain any of the additional hundreds of cancer-causing chemicals or tar that you would get from smoking tobacco-based cigarettes. The current marketing of the product is to attract current smokers to the product, rather than serve as a medical smoking cessation aide, which would have been under regulatory authority of the FDA. Because of this, they are considered to tobacco products, under the regulatory authority of the bureau of alcohol, firearms, and tobacco. However, as a newer product, they are not itemized on current tobacco-related laws, & don’t contain actual tobacco plant, therefore letting them escape the many penalties imposed on such products. We do not believe that it would make...
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...Should cigarettes be illegal, yes or no? In the 20th century smoking alone killed 100 million smokers and nonsmokers. Every hour more than 50 Americans will die from smoking and also causes people to die 13 - 14 year prematurely. That's why we should go along with making cigarettes illegal, there are 1,300 people dying each day from smoking alone, it would lessen the number of children and adults being affected by second-hand smoke, and would also reduce health care costs and dangerous air pollution. Vote yes for making cigarettes illegal. Cigarettes cause 1 out of 5 deaths. Smoking alone has killed more Americans than HIV, guns, illegal drugs and alcohol. There are 480,000 deaths per year just in the united states each year. By getting rid of cigarettes there would be fewer deaths. Although they would be illegal some people believe it would take away their freedom and that they should be able to make their own decisions about their bodies and what they do to it. Smoking doesn't only affect the smoker it affects the surrounding people....
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...cigarettes being cited as the main reason for it. The study however does point out that if the prices are increased for a longer period, the demand might in fact be elastic as people would be impacted more by the increase in prices. The research further suggested that the demand elasticity varies amongst poor and rich countries along with the population demographics. (Perucic, 2012) In general when the prices are increased or taxes are raised on inelastic products, the beneficiary is often the producer or the government as the tax burden would be on the consumers. A tax on cigarettes would mean the consumers bearing a greater tax incidence which would in fact discourage them to spend more on tobacco products. (Tax-inelastic-demand n.d.) As seen in the graph above, a tax imposition on cigarettes would shift the supply curve on the left with the equilibrium quantity reducing from Q to Q 1. The inelastic demand would mean that the tax burden is borne by the consumers whereas the producers bear a small fraction of the tax applied. The government while increasing taxes on cigarettes needs to ensure that all relevant substitutes for the...
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...and can not give up smoking. Without holding a cigarette, they will feel uncomfortable like loosing a best friend. They think that smoking is a good leisure activity and somehow can also be good for their health. However, other people think that smoking should be banned due to its negative effects. Opponents of banning smoking claim that smoking undoubtedly helps them to relax, for some people, it even improve their concentration. However, a large number of research studies show that smoking increases people’s likelihood of developing certain diseases (compared with people who have never smoked) and causes earlier death. Thus, if people never began smoking, the prevalence of those smoking-attributable diseases would decline, and life expectancy would increase. The medical research also finds that ceasing to smoke improves health. The risks of many smoking-attributable diseases decline after quitting, although a smoker does not have the same health as someone who has never smoked. Opponents also maintain that smoking is the smokers choice, and they will pay for their health problems. However, such an argument ignores the fact that there are many people around them when they are smoking. Studies show that secondhand smoke—the inhalation of smoke by someone other than the smoker, sometimes referred to as environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoking—has also been linked to a number of illnesses. Among newborn and children, exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk of sudden...
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...Cigarette tax measure may have unintended consequences | | | | Matt Evans On the surface, this November's Ballot Measure 44 is simplicity itself. The measure will increase taxes on cigarettes by 30 cents per pack, as well as on other tobacco products, and the revenue raised will be dedicated to the Oregon Health Plan and tobacco use reduction programs. What could be more straightforward? However, the measure raises a host of interesting issues that voters should weigh prior to casting their votes. Most important, of course, is the core of the measure, its purpose: to raise money for the Oregon Health Plan, ostensibly to offset costs the plan incurs from smoking-related illnesses. State revenue estimators understand that anytime you raise the tax on something, you will get less of it. This is certainly true in the case of Ballot Measure 44 and its effect on cigarette smoking. In fact, the State Legislative Revenue Office estimates that cigarette use will decline about 4.5 percent due to the increased taxation. In a series of four steps over the past 17 years, Oregon has raised the tax on cigarettes from 9 cents per pack to the current 38 cents. Each of these tax increases represented a smaller amount per pack than Measure 44's 30 cents. In every instance, tobacco use has fallen by more than the current projection of 4.5 percent. In fact, tobacco use fell an average of almost 9 percent--twice the state's estimate--after those four cigarette tax increases. The...
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...cigarettes that try to help reduce smoking, but in an effort to make more revenue the taxes that are placed on cigarettes are not so high that consumer usage will drastically decline and affect government revenue. The government has imposed quotas and tariffs on cigarettes to help regulate the importation of them. A country like the United States has a high border tariff, which the government likes, because its economic level of exporting is high. Countries that are considered to be third-world or developing nations tend to have low or no border tariffs on tobacco. By placing a tariff on tobacco, consumers lose, but the government earns income from it in the form of taxes. Quotas on the other hand, take some of what the consumers lose and give it to the suppliers who are fortunate enough to have their product shipped as part of the quota. For example, the few tobacco farmers in the United States who are granted quotas by the government earn a lot of money mainly because they have no shipping cost – government pays for their shipping cost. The government knows that cigarettes are a bad commodity but since the government makes money off of it, taxes are put in place. The taxes are not only put in place for the government to make money but an effort to reduce smoking, particularly amongst young people (MBN, 9). Young people are targeted the most because studies have shown that 80% of adult smokers started smoking when they were teens. Tobacco companies also target teens because they...
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...Medical studies have shown that smoking not only leads to health problems for the smoker, but also for people that are close by. As a result of this, many believe that smoking should not be allowed in public places. Prohibiting smoking in certain public places would provide a healthy environment for non-smokers and children. Many people, including me, are not cigarette smokers. Most of us hate to inhale second-hand smoke emitted by smokers, so we often have to hold our breath while passing through clouds of smoke. Although there are arguments on both sides, I strongly agree that a ban is the most appropriate thing to do. Opponents of such a ban, like you, argue against it for several reasons. Firstly, you say that nonsmokers make the choice themselves to breathe in other peoples smoke by going to places where smoking is allowed. If they absolutely do not want to deal with smoke then they do not need to go places where smoking is permitted. Smoking is a personal right and the smoker pays taxes every time they purchase cigarettes. Which is very similar to cars, smoking pollutes public places and if cars are allowed to pollute public places, you believe that there’s no reason cigarettes should be prohibited from polluting public places. There is evidence of tens of millions of people who grew up with smokers and remain healthy today. Second hand smoke is hundreds of times less concentrated than the direct smoke the smoker is inhaling from a cigarette. So you believe that it’s absurd...
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...worth of taxes from the tobacco industry, while revenue from cigarette manufacturers amounted to approximately Php31 billion. How much does life cost? For each life lost to tobacco use, the tobacco industry earned Php353,881.28. Is it worth it? This does not even account for the annual health costs and productivity losses from tobacco-related deaths and diseases that range from Php148 billion to Php314 billion. No monetary equivalent can also be juxtaposed to the hours of painful treatment just to manage the diseases, nor the time and energy a family member spends to care for the loved one. More so, these numbers do not even reflect the pain of losing someone you love. But for decision-makers, these exact figures and immeasurable realities are not compelling enough to pass the necessary measures to reduce tobacco use. Instead, the most marginalized and the poorest sectors are pitted against each other to rationalize inaction - tobacco victims versus farmers, workers against children and youth. Life versus livelihood. The battle of the sectors has been the easiest tactic to muddle the discourse on amendments to excise taxation. What we fail to remember is that all of these sectors - farmers, urban poor, youth, children, and workers are the tobacco victims. They are the ones selling their produce at a lower cost because of the monopoly, the ones earning below minimum wage or, worse, hired contractually, and they are also the primary consumers-replacement smokers-turned-patients...
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