On Nov 6, 10:15*am, Dan Abel > wrote:
> In article
> >,
>
> *Bryan > wrote:
> > On Nov 5, 5:42*am, Dave Smith > wrote:
> > > Ironic isn't it. The government taxes a vice with the excuse that they
> > > want to deter people from using it with a financial penalty. If they
> > > succeed in deterring everyone they will suffer a tremendous loss of
> > > revenue. *I don't know about other places but here in Ontario, the
> > > percentage of people who smoke is less than half what it was 30 years
> > > ago. Taxes on cigarettes have more than doubled, and total revenues have
> > > increased, despite the drop in smoking.
>
> > That's a win-win for everyone other than the folks who make the choice
> > to keep stinking.
>
> Up there in Canada, health care is mostly paid for by the government. *I
> don't know how much would be saved by people not smoking, but I imagine
> it would make up a considerable amount of that shortfall. *Granted, it
> will then cost more money for healthcare, because people will live
> longer, but shouldn't the prolonging of life be a good goal for a health
> care system?
>
> --
> Dan Abel
> Petaluma, California USA
>

==
Now there is a shortfall of accommodations for seniors who ARE living
longer as a result of healthier lifestyles. About 28% of Albertans
smoked twenty years ago...down now to around 18%. I was a smoker for
fifty years and finally was able to quit. Tobacco is one of the most
addictive substances used by people and it is time to really crack
down on its use by young people. Pre-teen and teen-agers must be fully
educated on the perils of tobacco as once they start it becomes
extremely difficult to change this insidious behaviour.
==