Avenue Odd

So a friend went out to buy cigarettes because he ran out. The only thought that came to mind was, isn't it such an expensive habit to keep up? His reply, no choice, I'm hooked.

Moving along that train of thought, it dawned upon me that (pardon me for thinking it along the line of economics here) no matter what governments do, they really do not want their people to stop smoking entirely. For one simple reason, it is such good business.

The rate at which our government taxes cigarettes is, in one word, exorbitant. The amount of premium a smoker has to pay should discourage him from smoking altogether.. right?

I'd say wrong. Smoking to most of these smokers is a lifestyle choice (is, has been, and probably always will be, for nicotine is a steadfast friend), and not quite a financial one. Think about it, some people have expensive hobbies that they are willing to dish out lots of cash to maintain. They set aside a certain amount just for it. As long as he is able to upkeep the hobby, he is fine with paying, simply because its part of his lifestyle.

With that in mind, the government can tax high amounts, and it is safe to say that the amount of smokers who stop smoking altogether would be proportionately smaller than the amount of money the government can raise from the tax from those who decide to just complain and keep smoking anyway - since it is a lifestyle choice.

Some would argue that tobacco tax is MORE to discourage smoking than to raise the earnings of the government.

I call bullshit on that. Completely. The statement in its entirety is false, I say. (I don't have a Ph.D, I haven't written any books, so yeah, you may choose to ignore me.)

Simply because there is just no substitute for cigarettes. If one decides to stop playing poker because its such a drain on the pocket, one may decide to do something else, perhaps play Old Maid with stakes. However, for cigarettes, its either smoke, or deal with withdrawal. Most would prefer the former, regardless of the price, simply because withdrawal is painful and our brains are hard-wired to veer away from pain, so making a conscious effort to go down the withdrawal path while the other path is available is most unthinkable.

Besides, it is raking in a very large sum of money each year for the governments. It is very profitable business. Had they simply wanted to stop society from smoking, it could simply make cigarettes another illegal narcotic, and send addicts to rehabilitation centers, that would be a much better deterrent than raising prices, wouldn't it? By raising taxes, what it says is, "smoking isn't wrong, its just expensive, so as long as you can pay, no worries mate!"

So keep smoking, it keeps the country's economy up. Also, smokers die earlier (tested and proven), and thus have less years to soak up taxpayers' money in healthcare and other benefits in their (less than usual) later years.

Nothing personal, its all good business.

Sidenote: Many researches have shown that men think women who smoke are sexier than their non-smoking counterparts. I'm starting to realise where that came from. If you'd only observe the way some ladies smoke, the cigarette is such a phallic symbol, and the whole mouth thing before the exhale.. I know where those researchers got that idea.. lol.

*THE PICTURE WAS UPLOADED ON OCTOBER 21, 2007 BY ArtWerk ON FLICKR.COM