Thread: Why wasn't alcohol taxed along with cigarettes!

Originally Posted by redpony353

I suspect most smokers will purchase them on the soon-to-be black market.

Exactly what Bob Price of US Border Watch Houston was saying on a local PBS debate last Friday. Expect drug cartels to take over black market sells of cigarettes. People are certainly not going to quit smoking because the tax went up or they would have quite a log time ago when the price went up from pennys a pack to what it is now.

Debbie

It really is simple. Only about 20% of the voters smoke. Almost 75% of the voters drink alcohol.

UB

Originally Posted by vortex

And to make the whole thing look nifty, they get canned peaches or canned mixed fruit (all sweetened with corn syrup or some chemical).

This is why my daughter's kindergarten teacher helped the kids plant a garden on the patio. He said the best way to get kids to eat veggies is to let them grow them themselves, so they will be more likely to eat them - that and because the veggies/fruits the school serves come out of cans and are heated so much they lose what vitamins they started with. It works though - most of the kindergarteners are now happily eating tomatoes, cucumbers, etc!

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by crazybird

How do you do menthol ones? I was in one of our papers and people there were saying our victory gardens or whatever you want to call them, in the future would be tobacco to do our own cigarettes and corn or whatever to run the still if they don't stop taxing these things to death.....lol had to laugh, but it's true.

OH...I don't know how they put the menthol in cigarettes. What plant does menthol come from? I bet the information is available on the net somewhere. If I smoked menthol I would find out what plant menthol comes from and I would also grow some of that. If I happen to run across this information I will post it here.

Menthol, a mint-derived substance, causes skin to feel cooler by arousing nerve endings that sense cold temperatures. Cigarette manufacturers use menthol because it mellows the taste of burning cigarettes. Interestingly, intake of menthol is pretty safe. Animal studies indicate that high doses of menthol distributed over a long period of time do not cause observable organ toxicities. Even when burned, menthol doesn't produce carcinogens. Menthol ingestion from cigarettes is carried to the liver, where it is broken down into harmless chemicals that are then excreted from the body.

Some research suggests that those who smoke menthol cigarettes take in a higher concentration of carcinogens and experience more smoking-related illnesses than do people who smoke regular cigarettes. This may be because when smoking menthol cigarettes, the pleasant, cooling sensation causes the user to inhale more tobacco smoke with each drag. This extra intake of carcinogenic substances by menthol smokers may be the cause of higher incidences of smoking-related sicknesses. As a result, menthol cigarette smokers may become more quickly addicted and also may smoke more cigarettes than those who smoke non-mentholated cigarettes. The cycle repeats, with smokers continuing to smoke more cigarettes to feed the addiction. Thus, smokers of menthol cigarettes have a higher rate of smoking-related ailments than smokers of regular cigarettes.

Of course, this theory includes variables on a person-to-person basis, since the amounts of smoke per drag differs, as do the types and brands of cigarettes smoked. The design of the cigarette can even change how much smoke people can inhale each time (i.e., filtered vs. unfiltered). Regardless of these variables, the bottom line still stands: any type of smoking is harmful to one's health, even if someone is not inhaling, or if s/he is inhaling second-hand smoke. People can develop mouth or throat cancer as easily as lung cancer or other smoking-related illnesses.

Interestingly, some studies indicate that menthol cigarette users are more apt to be minorities. For example, one study shows that 65 percent or more of African-American smokers choose to use menthol cigarettes, compared to only 25 - 30 percent of Caucasian smokers. Marketing plays a major role in influencing people to choose menthol cigarettes to smoke.

You can check out the following resources for any additional info about menthol cigarettes, smoking, and smoking-related illnesses:

American Lung Association web site

Originally Posted by jshhmr

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by crazybird

How do you do menthol ones? I was in one of our papers and people there were saying our victory gardens or whatever you want to call them, in the future would be tobacco to do our own cigarettes and corn or whatever to run the still if they don't stop taxing these things to death.....lol had to laugh, but it's true.

OH...I don't know how they put the menthol in cigarettes. What plant does menthol come from? I bet the information is available on the net somewhere. If I smoked menthol I would find out what plant menthol comes from and I would also grow some of that. If I happen to run across this information I will post it here.

Menthol, a mint-derived substance, causes skin to feel cooler by arousing nerve endings that sense cold temperatures. Cigarette manufacturers use menthol because it mellows the taste of burning cigarettes. Interestingly, intake of menthol is pretty safe. Animal studies indicate that high doses of menthol distributed over a long period of time do not cause observable organ toxicities. Even when burned, menthol doesn't produce carcinogens. Menthol ingestion from cigarettes is carried to the liver, where it is broken down into harmless chemicals that are then excreted from the body.

Some research suggests that those who smoke menthol cigarettes take in a higher concentration of carcinogens and experience more smoking-related illnesses than do people who smoke regular cigarettes. This may be because when smoking menthol cigarettes, the pleasant, cooling sensation causes the user to inhale more tobacco smoke with each drag. This extra intake of carcinogenic substances by menthol smokers may be the cause of higher incidences of smoking-related sicknesses. As a result, menthol cigarette smokers may become more quickly addicted and also may smoke more cigarettes than those who smoke non-mentholated cigarettes. The cycle repeats, with smokers continuing to smoke more cigarettes to feed the addiction. Thus, smokers of menthol cigarettes have a higher rate of smoking-related ailments than smokers of regular cigarettes.

Of course, this theory includes variables on a person-to-person basis, since the amounts of smoke per drag differs, as do the types and brands of cigarettes smoked. The design of the cigarette can even change how much smoke people can inhale each time (i.e., filtered vs. unfiltered). Regardless of these variables, the bottom line still stands: any type of smoking is harmful to one's health, even if someone is not inhaling, or if s/he is inhaling second-hand smoke. People can develop mouth or throat cancer as easily as lung cancer or other smoking-related illnesses.

Interestingly, some studies indicate that menthol cigarette users are more apt to be minorities. For example, one study shows that 65 percent or more of African-American smokers choose to use menthol cigarettes, compared to only 25 - 30 percent of Caucasian smokers. Marketing plays a major role in influencing people to choose menthol cigarettes to smoke.

You can check out the following resources for any additional info about menthol cigarettes, smoking, and smoking-related illnesses:

American Lung Association web site

Thanks for this info jshhmr. I wonder if a menthol smoker would have to buy menthol....or could they just add some mint leaves into the cigarette that they roll. I suppose it only makes sense that if it was ok to smoke menthol which is derived from mint....that it would be ok to smoke the mint as well. Not sure about that though.