Smokers reckon politicians are hypocrites and the evidence is in the Budget documents. The Government whacks on an extra tobacco tax but says it will also increase funding for stop-smoking programmes. Good move, guys. Let's look at the sums. Ah. excuse me.
Smokers are accustomed to be being on the same social acceptability level as dog poo.
We know the health risks and I've never met a smoker yet who did not want to quit. We also know that if we stopped, we could use the money we saved to buy some little knick-knacks for the home, like a new stereo system or a car. The trouble is, if every smoker in New Zealand quit today, the health system would collapse because it has been funded by the smokers' tax, and structured around an expectation that we will pop our clogs early and thus not be a burden upon it in our dotage. If all the smokers lived as long as the non-smokers, the health system would implode. Non-smokers should be grateful for our generosity.