Federal Cigarette tax would hit poor hardest

i have this reply in black and white in front of me at the moment...i think it makes a good point...kinda not excatly the question though..."Stand up and speak out"
state and federal cigarette taxes have been raised 73 tmes sence the year 2000_increasing the average price of cigarettes 80% a pack. Everyone should play their share of taxes_but it's unfair to single out smokers once again for a 156% tax increase...their going too far...and yes it affects the poorer people in the world (like myself) because if you live on a minimum wage income then everything is harder...and some people say why dont you quit...but thats irrelivant and my choice...so congress are taxing one of the most popular items on the market to pay for people in prision, jail, and schools...community...but why not make taxes higher on other things not just cigarettes

One of the leading arguments for taxing cigarettes is that people shouldn't smoke, so it's a sort of "sin tax." If people do what many people don't approve of, then they should pay for it. Using this reasoning, we should also increase the tax on alcohol, as this can also be abused. Taken to the extreme, we would end up putting taxes on those who have children out of wedlock, sugar, people with traffic violations, etc. etc.--anything that's considered bad for you.

Smokers are the new villains in society. Greenville, S.C.has a new ordinance prohibiting people from smoking on the street! Cigarette taxes are certainly hurting the poor and middle class more than the upper class. But it's more than just the revenue. Non smoking is like a religion in this country.