I have no problem with the government taxing the heck out of cigarettes. The tobacco companies have artificially manipulated the addictivity of their product and specifically targeted children and teens that are at a point in their psychological development where it is essential to rebel a little and separate their identity from their parents. They suppressed and lied about all of their practices and the data that they had amassed. While continually marketing and placing the ads in movies and advertisements. It should not be okay to offer something that is as addictive as heroin to kids when you know it is not a benign product. Imagine if someone placed heroin in jelly beans, placed them in every store, then said you have to be 18 (wink wink) to buy them, would that be ok? They deserve our wrath.
People that say marijuana is the gateway drug, overlook cigarettes completely. It is a rare case where someone is addicted to a "hard" drug or alcohol and doesn't also smoke cigarettes. Even if they eventually kick the so called "hard" drug they usually still smoke long after.
I believe many food producers have followed the very successful model laid out by the tobacco companies, with the excessive use of msg and sugar. As more is learned about this, the conscious and capable will start to express their outrage at them also. However, Wooly, I would argue that truly eating healthily is expensive and time consuming two things that the average nuclear family is in short supply of. I am also a former tobacco user, I quit 15 years ago, but am chewing nicorette as I type this. I believe most people who have spent the majority of their life addicted to nicotine have tried at least once to stop, they wish that they had never begun the habit and also wish they had the fortune that they spent on it back, that is a huge price to pay for being a slightly rebellious teen. Forgive me, but painting this as government overreach into legitimate business, seems a bit contrived.
