People need to be forced to LIVE their political beliefs. If you vote for someone whose platform is "public health" and "social good" you only have yourself to blame.
NY Gov Polls on Total Ban on Tobacco Sales
- Thread starter briarfriar
- Start date
California's income tax is progressive so the accuracy of this list depends entirely upon how much the earner is making. If you earn between $66,296 and $338,639, your California state income tax is 9.3% by itself. Add in property tax (about 1% for most of us?) and sales tax and you can easily compete with the top states on this list.
As far as I'm concerned anti tobacco legislation in one place is a threat to smokers everywhere. When something gets passed it sets precedence for more and more places to implement similar laws. In Canada and Ireland cigars and pipe tobacco are completely stripped of any branding, that wouldn't have happened if Australia hadn't implemented plain packaging years prior and credited it for an already declining smoking rate. When a state or nation raises the taxes or bans online sales that harms the profits of the manufacturers, which may eventually have to discontinue certain blends to make ends meet. McClelland closed up shop because regulations made it impossible for them to purchase the tobacco they needed and turn a sufficient profit. It's a whole domino effect.
"It's for the children!" Ugh. There is an ulterior motive 99% of the time you hear this.
"It's for your own good!" is even worse. I'm a damn adult. I know tobacco isn't good for me. Stop trying to make decisions for me regarding my own health.
The "think of the children!" crowd upsets me the most. That's the rationale used to justify banning menthol or flavors in general. I don't doubt Big Tobacco uses flavored products to make it more appealing to minors, which is absolutely despicable but come on kids smoked before there were any flavors. Adults should not be punished for kids using something they shouldn't be in the first place. Oddly there's very few calls to ban flavored vodka / whiskey or alcopops, really goes to show how little stigma alcohol has even though some recent research indicates it has similar risks to tobacco with no safe amount.
And don't get me started on the call to ban menthol because black and Latino smokers prefer it. I'm Latino, every relative I have who smokes cigs smokes menthols and last thing I want is one of them to get hassled by some cops over where they bought the pack of Newports in their pocket.
As I stated above, a lot of heavy hitters, groups with moneys, stand to gain by by such a ban. The various tribes and organized crime can hire the politicians needed to approve such a law. Will they? At this point in time I doubt it. But, if sufficient politicians can be leased for a period, it's damned hard these days to hire a politician for any great length of time, such a law could easily be passed. Would the monetary gain be worth the layout? Probably not as other states are close at hand for users of nicotine procure tobacco products easily enough. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibilities though. Politics makes for strange bedfellows. Especially if some of the prospective bedfellows don't think things through. Actions have consequences. Always!
With all due respect, a simple google search on states with highest taxes will yield all sorts of different lists. I’m not sure the list you posted qualifies as “facts”.
I get many sources that say the same as what Sable posted when I google it.
These are the sates with the highest tax percentages. California may actually collect more tax revenue, because the state has more millionaire and billionaires than any other state. Hell, the smallest house in California is almost a million dollars.
I think the general answer is......it's complicated. You could likely make a list in a number of different orders based on the income you earned and which types of taxes you include in your report.
Like NJ for example, we have a graduated tax rate based on your income bracket. We also have the #1 highest property tax in the country and a 6.625% sales tax.
Depending on what you are including for your overall list will definitely impact what your list is going to look like.
Like NJ for example, we have a graduated tax rate based on your income bracket. We also have the #1 highest property tax in the country and a 6.625% sales tax.
Depending on what you are including for your overall list will definitely impact what your list is going to look like.
The flavored vapes, cigarettes, etc I can see being marketed to minors. There's clearly a potential problem there. I've seen teens vaping, smoking, etc, but how many kids do we see smoking tobacco pipes, though? I bet the number is so close to zero, it might as well be zero. I hardly think that a cherry cavendish is the demonic force that lawmakers try to make it out to be.
As for the bans on menthols, it's obvious that they are 100% racially motivated and intended to target certain groups.
And, pot being made into gummies and actual candy, for God's sake. I also have a problem with flavored alcohol beverages, like those lemon aid malt liquors, Fireball, cherry, strawberry, candy flavored Seagrams. If bubblegum vapes and vanilla cigars and turning kids on to smoking, then peach daiquiris are turning kids on to drinking. And, I don't even know what to say about pot chocolates.
Why pick on just tobacco? Remove the flavorings from everything we don't want kids to have.
Those are the same people who now insist it's ok for a 7 year old to decide they want to be castrated or have their breasts cut off. And if their parents won't allow it they want to take the children out of the home.
But they claim to care about children. They're either dangerously insane or pure evil, or both. So I certainly don't care what they think about tobacco.
I know, and alcohol is fine, but tobacco is Satan incarnate, despite the fact that alcohol is a highly addictive drug with the potential for fatal overdose and withdrawals. It's crazy to live in pants-shitting fear of tobacco while ignoring the health problems that alcohol consumption can cause.
There are other solutions to the problem of minors getting their hands on these substances that don't involve limiting the choices of adults. But to some extent, kids will be kids. I know I did a lot of shit I shouldn't have at that age. Most of us here probably did.
Add in the fact that pipe tobacco isn’t sold in stores that kids can get into anyways. Pipe tobacco isn’t sold in grocery stores much these days, and a tobacconist will kick anyone underage. Whereas most of the country sells these candy flavored alcoholic beverages in convenience stores and grocers.
I would be ok with getting rid of candyish aromatics if they were also going after KoolAid tasting alcohols. If you cant stand the taste of tobacco or beer without adding flavorings, maybe consider acquiring a taste for it or just eat candy. But, I’m all curmudgeony that way.
Just another reason to avoid the Empire state...
Last edited:
Hey man, we have the Captain Black Cherry smokers to thank for doing most of the work to keep the pipe tobacco industry afloat. Talk about taking one for the team.
Sure they will, depending on what taxes are included or excluded in the pile. Income, property, and sales being the biggest, this seemed a reasonable example. Feel free to pick the one that best suits your needs.
While I'm against flavor bans period I'm glad that California at least exempted pipe tobacco and cigars costing seven bucks or more. Hopefully that will set precedent for the jurisdictions that ban flavors. Kids might be buying Backwoods and Swishers but they sure as hell aren't buying Acids or Nub Nuances, let alone Cult Blood Moon or Apricots & Cream. It's sucks enough living in Washington where you can't order online because the kiddos just might steal their dad's credit card and ID and buy some pipe tobacco. Between lack of legal online sales, outrageous taxes, and not living near a place that sells anything beyond bulks, I seriously doubt I'll ever be able to build a decent cellar. Instead I just buy and try whatever blends I have the opportunity to and remind myself at least I'm not in Australia
Exactly. I can't speak for others but I'm pretty sure I've never even seen codger pouches anywhere but places that are adults only. To be fair before I got into pipes I probably wouldn't have noticed it
Exactly, as much as some people like to bash aromatics and flavored cigars they do an essential job of providing the revenue needed to make premium stuff.
Last edited:
I have often wondered how many 7 year olds wander into a tobacconist to buy a Plug of Super Doo Hickey Whizz Bang Pipe tobacco as they casually finger their Comoy pipe whilst displaying a pack of Dill Pipe cleaners in their blazer jacket pocket! I didn't buy my first 1 oz cube of Condor until I was at least 14 years old. I would love Prohibition. The money that could be made would be life changing and personally I would find the challenge of out smarting Uncle Sam to be very refreshing.
