Fuck You Very Much, Smokers

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Dec 20, 2005 7:16PM

Like smokers don't have it hard enough already, with the taxes they pay on cigarettes and how we recently told them that they can't indulge in their favorite habit in public. Now County Board President John Stroger has proposed increasing the tax on a pack of ciggies by another $1, thus doubling the county's tax per pack.

Stroger says that the hike would take care of a $75 million shortfall in the county's $3.1 billion 2006 budget. He also says that the hike on cigs is appropriate because a disproportionate number of people who use the health care system have problems related to tobacco use. We haven't done our research to know if this is true.. but we can see where he's going with it. .. but then some commissioners suggested that the money from the hike be earmarked exclusively for treatment of tobacco-related illnesses and Stroger was all like "er.. no.. I don't think so," which seems to totally blow his rationale, right?