By William F. Shughart II Second chances are rare in politics, but California's voters get one come March 7th. However, if the experience with Prop. 99, the 1987 initiative that tripled the state excise tax from 10 cents to 30 cents per pack, is any guide the loot will be spent on much more dubious activities mostly benefiting the professionals themselves. Indeed, they are already more than paying their own way.
Many people assume that smokers require more health care than nonsmokers.
Hence, while smoking can affect the timing of health care expenditures, it doesn't follow that smokers' lifetime medical bills are larger than those of nonsmokers. In fact, the opposite is more likely to be true. If nonsmokers live longer than smokers, then it is they who will have the largest health care costs over their lifetimes and it is they who will incur most of their medical expenses after the age of 65 when they become eligible for taxpayer subsidies through Medicare. Recognizing this simple point leads to the conclusion that the nation's health care costs would increase if everyone stopped smoking. Because they don't live as long, smokers also collect less Social Security than nonsmokers.