UP IN SMOKE

Smoking is a disgusting habit to have, an expensive one to maintain. Here in Australia it is now going to cost those who partake in a ciggie several more dollars per packet. Kevin Rudd says by increasing the cost of cigarettes by $2 per packet, and changing the labelling will help consumers to curb the habit. Crap. We aren't going to smoke the packet only the ciggies inside. Who gives a toss what the outside looks like. As for the cost rising , PallMall 30s went from $10-99 per packet to $15 at Coles supermarket where I live. Isn't that more than the said two dollars or am I not just one of the vermin smokers, but also illiterate as well?

It is being said that these new taxes will help pay for Mr Rudd's proposed health reform.

Not all smoking people are inconsiderate. Not all smell like an ashtray.
This post is not about me but as I am a smoker myself I get pissed off when people bunch all smokers in the same basket. I have rights and I also respect the rights of others around me. You wont find me walking around in the streets puffing away, blowing smoke in others faces. I do not throw my butts on the ground or in waterways. I do not even smoke in my car when my children are in there, not only is it bad for their health to inhale secondary smoke but also illegal here in Queensland. If you are caught driving a car , smoking with children under the age of 16 in with you, you will incur a fine over $230. Many smokers are aware of the dangers of smoking, we aren't all brain dead morons who do not know the risks we take every time we light up.

Images like the one above does nothing to deter people from smoking, we aren't little children. It makes me take pride in the fact my teeth are not in that condition.

While we are at it, why not impose super taxes on alcohol again. Yes smoking creates a lot of health problems but so does alcohol. For those of us who do smoke, these taxes are taking away our basic human rights. Ban cigarettes, ban alcohol, ban V8 motor cars, make it illegal to sunbathe where one may get melanoma...we all know the risks of sunbathing, we still do it yet people are still dying from skin cancers. Geez lets ban sex!! Contracting STI's causes health problems, same thing, we know the risks yet these diseases are still presenting in our educated human society. This all sounds ridiculous because it is!

So Mr Rudd your Labor party policy of upping taxes on smokes will do stuff all to curb the habits of millions. You're just a greedy little bastard, why don't ALL politicians take a pay cut to fund the health reforms, after all it's you guys who give us constant anxieties and stress related illnesses which require medical attention at times, over the policies you put forth on a weekly basis.
And to think I once thought the sun shone out of the Labor Party's ass, with Kevin Rudd and Anna Bligh in the top jobs, who needs enemies.