It has been proven countless times that smoking harms the lungs, causes several cardiovascular diseases, is a major risk factor for heart attacks and is the culprit behind a slew of other health problems. On top of all that, there are thousands of different organizations giving us about a thousand different reasons not to smoke.
I don't smoke, and I don't think other people should either. Therefore, I cannot argue against the idea of a smoking ban in public places in Wisconsin, nonetheless I would never force my ideas on another. A person should have a right to decide what goes into their body. As such, even I think the new cigarette tax is quite outrageous.
From Oct. 1, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2007, the excise tax on a single cigarette was 3.85 cents, or 77 cents on a 20-pack of cigarettes according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
Yet that has changed this year, and as of Jan. 1, 2008 the excise tax on a single cigarette has increased to 8.85 cents, or $1.77 on a pack of cigarettes. This means that right now, the cost of a pack is almost $5.
As a consequence of this new tax, thousands of people have been calling the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line in hopes of kicking the potentially fatal habit and thus avoiding the costly tax. For that reason, supporters of the new cigarette tax have declared the bill a success in that it is forcing people to quit smoking. I would say the bill is nothing short of a failure.
Sure, I'll admit that the bill may generate more tax revenue initially, and that's great, but increased revenue won't last for long if more and more people are forced to quit smoking since they can no longer afford it.
In fact, in other states that have dramatically raised their own cigarette tax, the revenue generated from cigarette taxes actually falls short of the revenue before the newer bill was enacted. However, what supporters and writers of this bill truly hoped to accomplish was to reduce the number of Wisconsin smokers, and they have succeeded in their goal. But since when does the government have a say in whether we smoke?
Nevertheless, if the government is able to force people to quit smoking, what's next, a major increase in taxes on alcohol to discourage people from drinking? Because - let's face it - alcohol can be as dangerous as smoking.
The government should not have the power to control what we can and cannot put into ourselves. It ought to be our freedom to decide what to do with our own bodies. It's not like smokers are oblivious to the fact that what they are doing is killing themselves. They know all the facts on smoking - there's a huge warning on the side of every pack they smoke.
Consequently, the government should not be able to decide for these people whether they must quit smoking. This latest tax is a blatant infringement by the government on citizens' personal freedoms.
And have the supporters and writers of the bill even considered the effect the new tax has on business owners who rely on cigarettes as part of their income? Are they just expendable casualties in this new war on tobacco?
I would completely support a statewide smoking ban on indoor public places to reduce the amount of second-hand smoke a person is exposed to. Second-hand smoke has proved to be just as deadly as smoking itself.
What a person does to their own body is one thing, but dragging other people down into an early grave is simply unacceptable. People should have a right to decide what goes into their own bodies. Others are not supposed to decide for us. I have no problem with what a person puts into their own body - it's what they are putting into my body that I have a problem with. I just wish Gov. Jim Doyle
would agree with me.
Ryan Dashek is a sophomore majoring in biology. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
