Well now fellers here's a heads-up about an upcoming gammahoochin' compliments of the Fed. gummint. Now I'll not even enter a debate as to the virtues&sensibilities of smoking. If yer over 18 it's your choice. Anyways..as of April 1st. of this year the Fed. gummint has seen fit to levy a tax of $25 a POUND on tobacco. That's not a typo...$25 a pound. Now since I "roll my own" I buy tobacco in 1lb. bags which today costs $12. As of April 1st. this same 1 lb. bag of tobacco will cost $37. Cartons of smokes will rise $10 and cigars are gonna quadruple in price. (Sorry Joe..) I assume chaw will rise exponentionaly...and I'm figgerin' to just smoke dope in my pipe as it'd be a helluva lot cheaper. I presume the reason (as if the Feds ever needed a reason to gig the working man..eh) is that they'll put this tax money aside to eddicate us about the dangers of smoking an chawin'. They said that back when they got millions of $$$ out of the tobacco companies some time back. Wanna know what Pa. lawmakers did with their HUGE settlement? Cleaned the walls/ceilings of the Capital Building down in Harrisburg. To git rid of the decades of smoke stains. We know it's a nasty habit. Fact is we don't care. We enjoy it. Now if they can figger out a tax to keep this hair from growing on my palms...I'm interested. Audie...

 

I think there just trying to find ways to tax us since they screwed the economy so bad and don't wan't every one to notice it this way only tobaco users and producers are affected. This is how I see it people won't be able to afford the habbit and kick it so the grower has product he can't sale. More jobs lost tobaco company employee lay offs coming clap clap your hands yall.

 

The same thing that's causing hairy palms has also been known to cause blindness.

I smoke cigars occassionally so I'm not affected too much by this but I remember when you could get a pack of those Basic cig's for like $1. Some of you may remember when smokes were cheaper but that's as far back as I can remember. Crazy that people pay that much for smokes.

I also saw on the news this morning that casino revenue's also increased a pretty substantial amount. I can't remember off the top of my head what the number was but remember thinking wow, for a country with an economy in the toilet, people will still throw money in the machines..

 

The Feds are gonna do whatever they figure is " good for us". Irregardless if we like it or not. I suspect they'll soon figure out how to tax the internet. I've long had the idea of a tax on overeducated clueless politicians. As of late I've thought of another tax on overcompensated financial gurus who refuse to shut up. My tax idea would be based on performance. A baseline of $5000 per year plus another $5000 for each time they say or do something that hurts the average working stiff. At the rate they screw up the stimulus deal ought to be paid back by Labor Day.

 

Well now fellers let me explain some of "the reasoning" behind this tax. And don't think because ye smoke cigars yer exempt! See... on the bottom of every pack of factory rolled cigereets there's a little stamp mark. This is the Fed. tax on smokes. Now since some of us prefer to roll our own...for financial reasons and otherwise...we don't pay this tax. I roll my own because I can roll up 3 CARTONS (600) of cigereets for roughtly $19....and no tax. The tobacco is untainted..they don't fiddle with the nicotine content 'er anything else. I like that! Unfortunatly the Feds have figgered out they're missing a good oppertunity to gig us by being so frugal. And since the tax is on tobbacco "by the pound" they've figgered out a way to gig us all. Cigars, snuff, chaw, pipe tabaccy..etc. etc. etc.! Well, I'll find a way around it as I always do. China sells tabaccy..no Fed. tax on that. And lots of other ways around the laws as well. It just chafes me that we're screwing an American source of jobs via the Feds intervention. And, mind ye!...once they git their hands on the internet...we're doomed! Audie...the Oldfart....

 

just bought a pack of cigs and the price went up 90 cents yesterday!!! so it was $5.40 for my pack damn

 

Have they said what they are going to do with the money ? This is only going to hurt the average person that can't or doesn't want to quit. It will take food right off the table of hard working people.

 

From what I've learned the proceeds are going toward health insurance for kids whose parents can't afford it. Me thinks our all wise and knowing governer is out to make PA the Nazifornia of the Northeast.

 

yeah i think it's about time we got some good ole boys in the PA government who do things that benifit the average person, such as legalize weed, lower tax on cigs, lower tax on beer, raise the speed limit on highways, ticket the CRAP out of people who can't drive or are on their cell phone

i have currently quit smoking during weekdays and i now only smoke on the weekends

 

I still smoke during the week but I've cut back a lot. Hopefully I can quit this time.