Sin Tax

So they jacked up the taxes on cigarettes on 4/1/09 and also added sales tax to  liquor and beer. This is the so called SIN TAX that was recently passed. The cost of a carton of smokes is going up almost $10, last I checked a carton of camels was $49.90 with tax.

     Ok so we all get the point, they are trying to use the cost of cigarettes and booze coupled with the bad economy to force people to quit smoking. Of course they claim that it is to pay for schools and health care. Let me pose a hypothetical question what happens if they are successful and most people quit smoking. Doesn't that mean they wont have the money for schools and health care?

     Sadly it seems that their "make them so expensive no one can afford them" gambit is working. I know of at least 10 people, all of whom are long term smokers that are quitting or trying to quit.

     I of course am among these people. I haven't given up on nicotine completely, but i have switched to this handy little device known an as E-Cig. They come in several shapes and sizes, from the size of a cigarette , or a bic pen, all the way up to  a pipe or a cigar. I personally use an NJOY NCIG, it is about the size of a bic pen and so far has been a nice replacement for its analog counterpart.

     Now I did this for three reasons.

     1: Cost, as the cartridge equivalent of a carton of smokes will only run you about 20 bucks (read $30 cheaper than most cigs). That is for a pack of 5 cartridges each one equivalent to ~2 packs of cigarettes.

     2: Health, in lieu of the 4000 or so components of tobacco smoke there is a maximum of 12 chemicals in the nicotine solution. The traditional flavor regular (high) strength cartridges I use lists exactly 4. Nicotine, Flavoring,Propylene Glycol, and Water (I refuse to wiki link fucking water). Can anyone blame me for wanting to be alive and well longer so I can bitch more?

     3: Convenience, as there is a damn near militant smoking ban here in Louisville. I once again can "smoke" in bars, hotels, restaurants, and such. Not to mention places I have never been able to smoke like the movies, my mother's house, and hospitals. They claim it is legal to use on planes but I have yet to have this confirmed. Personally I think you would have more trouble getting the device on a plane than you would taking it in into the lavatory and getting that fix that will keep you from choking that annoying brat behind you on that 12 hour flight.

So in short I encourage everone to write/call/email your congress-critter, and in the meantime the Njoy product line should be a nice replacement.

P.S. I'll harp on this a bit more when i have finished some research, also im going to do a full review of the N-Cig A little later this week