The fight to eliminate nicotine emissions is on and it has begun in Australia
Cigarettes up, and plain packaging compulsory
In what no doubt will be seen as anti-competative, anti-capitalist and certainly anti-tobacco the Australian government began a two pronged attack on the tobacco industry with enforced increase in prices and a regulation of tobacco advertising at the most basic level, packaging.

It is strange that a government who has laid aside its fight to commence an emissions trading scheme which licenses pollution should then turn on pollution of another form.

I often wonder about sin taxes and as in this case once the "sin" is gone or reduced where will they look next for the money.

" The excise increase, which will help fund the government's health reforms, will be short of that required to lift the price of a packet of cigarettes to $20, as recommended by the government's Preventative Health Taskforce."

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Originally Posted by califdadof3

I often wonder about sin taxes and as in this case once the "sin" is gone or reduced where will they look next for the money.

" The excise increase, which will help fund the government's health reforms, will be short of that required to lift the price of a packet of cigarettes to $20, as recommended by the government's Preventative Health Taskforce."

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The increases will be gradual to extract as much money as possible with as little reaction as possible in an election year. The theory here is that their health bill will be reduced by not having to treat smokers for their many early onset diseases so they won't have to look for the money. Smoking costs billions a year
http://www.ashaust.org.au/lv4/Lv4pub...king_costs.htm

Sin taxes act the same way as the prohibition everyone tells me was ineffective. To be truly effective to change behavior they have to be steeply taxed ,and that opens the possibility of illegal smuggling .

I see it here in the North East US . Interstate 95 which runs up the East Coast between Florida and Maine is a smuggling route where cigarettes purchased from low tax states in the South travel north to merchants here.

In Europe where cigarette taxes are even more severe ,the jihadists fund their activity with smuggling .

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Originally Posted by tomder55

sin taxes act the same way as the prohibition everyone tells me was ineffective. To be truly effective to change behavior they have to be steeply taxed ,and that opens the possibility of illegal smuggling .

I see it here in the North East US . Interstate 95 which runs up the East Coast between Florida and Maine is a smuggling route where cigarettes purchased from low tax states in the South travel north to merchants here.

In Europe where cigarette taxes are even more severe ,the jihadists fund their activity with smuggling .

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Well Tom we have some advantages, the taxes are imposed by the Federal government so they are uniform and we have that big moat to keep the jihadists away, besides smuggling people is more profitable. Now I don't doubt some enterprising soul will bring a few thousand cigarettes in somehow. We expect the price to be forced to $20, my daughter tells me that at that level she will have to quit smoking so I say bring it on.

I think you missed the way this is being done, those smuggled cigarettes are going to be very obvious because all the legal ones will be in plain wrappers

England has a big moat also (although they do have the chunnel now) From the Telegraph (I hope this is one of the acceptable sources )
Revealed: £2bn cost to UK from cigarette smuggling - Telegraph

I've already had my rants about the anti-smoking tyrants, that battle is largely over in the U.S. - smokers are demon spawn and must reform or subdued one way or another. The zealots have turned their attention to salt, supplements and Happy Meals.

There are scoundrels on both sides of the aisles in the nanny state . DO you hear me Sen.McCain?! (S 3002 which arises from the dead thanks to Waxman)

Yep, McCain is indeed that scoundrel.

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Originally Posted by tomder55

England has a big moat also (although they do have the chunnel now) From the Telegraph (I hope this is one of the acceptable sources )
Revealed: £2bn cost to UK from cigarette smuggling - Telegraph

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Tom I doubt that you have noticed but we don't have day trippers to Asia or New Zealand and we have very effective customs. There is a difference between the English Channel and the Pacific/Indian/Southern Ocean. I don't think they will be crossing the Arafura Sea in tinnies, the attrition rate from that activity is rather high, besides plain packaging solves the problem.

It is easy for the Brits to solve their problem, adopt the Euro and unify their tax sysyem with The EU, it is pig headedness that has caused their problem