"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:11:31 -0800, Gunner Asch
wrote:

On Sat, 08 Jan 2011 06:04:28 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

if everybody quits, do you think the gvnmt will cut the billions they
recieve in taxes from their budgets or just find someone or something
else
to tax?
be careful what you wish forg

Do you honestly think that the taxes brought in from tobacco sales
outweigh the massive healthcare debt brought on by sick smokers?


Actually...yes. Only 20% of smokers have medical issues related to
smoking. Yet 100% of smokers pay into the system in very big big ways.

Got any hard figures to go with that? I figured that if ten bucks per
carton went to taxes, the average 2-pack/day smoker would contribute
$730/yr for those 73 cartons. After 20 years, that's $14,600.

How much does a full diagnostic workup for cancer cost?
How much to treat emphysema?

How much does a lung resection/removal cost?
http://healthcarebluebook.com/page_R...=45&dataset=MD
Oops, you just blew THIRTY FIVE YEARS of tax payments, not including
R&R time.

How much does chemo cost?
Throat/mouth cancer treatments?

I think you're wishing here, mon. BTW, Federal taxes are only
$6.16/carton.


Your numbers are out of date. Federal taxes are now $10.10 per carton. State
and local add to that. Around here the taxes are about $47 per carton not
including sales tax.
The median tax (Fed + State not including local) is $23.49 per carton.

I don't know what the current numbers are, but Hills study from the 50's
showed an increased mortality rate for lung cancer and cardiovascular
disease among cigarette smoking doctors at 3.42 per 1000 person years. So
the 20% may be a reasonable number.

So, a thousand people smoke for 20 years. Collectively they pay $343 million
dollars into the fund. 200 get sick that leaves them 1.7 million each for
treatment.

Paul K. Dickman