taxes on tobacco

In this debate I believe my opponent is referring to the federal tobacco tax. "This opinion comes mainly from my belief that government should not interfere with peoples personal choices. " Does That mean we should get rid of education and schools because it interferes with peoples' personal choices? Are you saying that people who don't smoke is because of taxes being high and not because they care about their health? Among adults in the United States, cigarette smoking has decreased from about 42% of the population in 1965 to about 21% in 2006 (the latest year for which numbers are available). It is estimated that more than 43 million adults currently smoke cigarettes. About 22% of men and 17% of women were smokers. Education seems linked to smoking rates, with lower smoking rates in groups with higher levels of education. . http://www.cancer.org... In the USA there are about 307,234,309 people and out of them 43 million adults smoke. . http://www.census.gov... The reason they are raising taxes on Tobacco is because it will make it harder for teenagers to buy tobacco related products because most teenagers don't have a job that pays them enough to buy tobacco at the new prices. . http://www.usatoday.com... Over 13 percent—3.3 million—youths aged 12 to 17 used a tobacco product in the past month. Only 3.3 million will be affected compared to the 43 million that can pay them even though they have increased the taxes on tobacco. The 3.3 million aren't allowed to smoke anyway so this law doesn't infringe on any rights or personal decision. There is a law that makes it illegal for people under 18 to buy tobacco but they do it anyway this law will re-enforce that law. The sentences below and that link will go into detail about how tobacco affects children's development. Tobacco affects your body's development. Smoking is particularly harmful for teens because your body is still growing and changing. The 200 known poisons in cigarette smoke affect your normal development and can cause life-threatening diseases, such as chronic bronchitis, heart disease, and stroke. . http://www.elks.org... This law does help by decreases the money spent on help treating people who want to quit or suffer from using tobacco for a long time; and with more money they can treat other problems that people suffer from. The tobacco industry is one of the most profitable businesses in the country, making billions of dollars every year. But the costs of smoking are far higher than the income from cigarette sales. Smoking causes more than $196 billion each year in health-related costs, including the cost of lost productivity caused by deaths from smoking. Smoking-related medical costs averaged more than $100 billion each year between 2000 and 2004. This translates to $2,197 in extra medical expenses for each adult smoker per year as of 2004. Death-related productivity losses from smoking among workers cost the US economy more than $97 billion yearly (average for 2000-2004). For each pack of cigarettes sold or given away in 2004, $5.34 was spent on medical care caused by smoking, and $5.28 lost in productivity, for a total cost to society of $10.62 per pack. . http://www.cancer.org... I would like my opponent to provide the prices of tobacco before the Federal Tobacco Tax and after the Federal Tobacco Tax. I feel that way the voters will understand the price more if they are able to see it with their own eyes. I also feel he must show that because of this Tax it interferes with peoples' personal choices. This ends my argument for this round, next round it will get interesting for I will be able to cross-examine my opponent's argument.