In my household, both my parents smoked. My sister smokes, my niece smokes. I do not. I detest smoking and its effects. I resent being exposed to smoke when I dine al fresco and I absolutely can’t stand sitting next to THAT person on the train who just puffed out their last drag before entering the station.
In my total disgust for smoking, I can’t help but give a clear throat chuckle at the proposed $1 tax to cigarettes to pay for health care costs in Maryland. The current retail price of a pack of cigarettes (including taxes) is $6.04 in the state of Maryland. The current proposal from Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative would increase that cost by one dollar to an average of $7.04 per pack of health busting cigarettes.
It would seem that smokers are the last minority that you can disenfranchise without repercussion. They’re also one of the only minorities I know of that you can opt out of so no sympathy cards from PGC Blog.
