First they try to give you the idea that you shouldn't smoke….
Then they make fortunes on all the cigarettes sold.

The Real Drug Lords!

I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, it was well known that cigarettes weren't good for you. They were called cancer sticks & coffin nails.

We were told that each cigarette smoked would take one minute from our lives.

So, why is it then, that all of a sudden, everyone "discovers" that cigarettes cause all kinds of bad health problems and they all start suing the tobacco industry?

The federal government has been subsidizing the tobacco farmers for years. States and localities have made a fortune in tobacco taxes. Now they've discovered a new way to get more from the poor smoker, sue the tobacco companies!

What gives government the moral right to sue big tobacco, when governments (federal & state & local) have made such a fortune in tobacco taxes. They've been pushing tobacco for years!

And so, New York State, in addition to their tobacco settlement, slaps a huge cigarette tax in addition to all the taxes that are already collected.

Everyone knows the smoker is hooked. The government knows the smoker will pay what ever it takes to get their cigarettes. Government is like a drug pusher that doesn't even have to supply the product! They just collect their booty from each pack sold!

Government, the real Drug Lord.

(P.S. For those of you who don't smoke, sooner or later, they'll get to you, and try to control your words or actions with taxes or lawsuits.)