How Much is the Government Making Off of Tobacco?
It’s no secret that the government taxes our spending– in fact, sales tax is one of the main ways that the government brings in money. But there are a number of other items that have their own additional taxes imposed, whether at the state or federal level. And, when it comes to cigarettes, the consumer pays both. Would it be right to call this a tax on one’s vice, or sin? While we don’t claim to be any moral authority, the figures and statistics are quite interesting.
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Question: How much does the average smoker actually contribute to the economy per year? I wish I could actually see the income numbers.
Mitch,
On your comments from Oct.6,2012. You are so right about Our Presidents’ Lies and political views.You have pointed out this one example and there are many more. Yes, he is our Presedent and I support all of our Presedents in office. Yet I will never support unfair Taxes and backdoor prohabition that has occured with Tobacco users.
Hold on to your wallets………..Obama and the Dems. are at it once again…….Spend…Spend…and Spend some more………Then Raise TAXES……Forget about the unbalanced buget or 16 Trillion owed……
Wasnt Obama a smoker at one point in time?
I hear that Obama home town of Chicago has gone after another City Tobacco Tax on top of the existing taxes the City,State and Feds have.This should bring them close to Mayor Bloomburge in New York City taxes and prices. I dont recall any town hall meetings during the election with the Tobacco Taxes or usage rights.Less Rights and Unfair Taxation under a goverment without representation…..Is this the America that we have become?
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Stingray, Obama knew that nonsmokers would never accept a tax increase of the size he needed to cover children’s health insurance. And nonsmokers are a huge majority of the vote out there. Soooo…. he simply targeted smokers to pay for everyone.
AND… after he did it, he turned around and LIED about it on national television! See the 30 second clip by entering:
(“bare-faced lie” AND gasdoc)
in parentheses just like that into Google and choose the July 23rd, 2009 entry to see him pass off America’s 40 million smokers as if we were nothing more than vermin.
- MJM
Observation and Reply:
This is a subject of Taxation by the Federal and State Goverments against the citizens of the United States. Does the Goverment provide the citizens and thuss the Tobacco users a Fair representation in the Taxes mandaded by Law?
I have seen many Tax increases over the years concerning Tobacco.I have never seen the accountability of those Tax dollars from the collectors.Some Tax form Tobacco wasw said to be for Childends heath care!! What is that about? I think it was the last $ 1 (one dollar) tax increase by the feds.Why should smokers pay for the health care of children when that burden should be carried by all..What is and continues to happen is a backdoor prohabition against smokers by the goverment and nextdoor nieghors.A smoker should be able to live free in this country without the burden of unfair taxes or a second class citizen.
Furthermore, A life long smoker should be able to collect premium heath care and a casket when they expire. Having payed all the burden of a unfair tax load.
Live Free and be an American Again,
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There making a RIDICULOUS amount off tobacco!! We all know it!
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Thank you. Check back for more interesting topics.
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Hi,
Thank you. We’re glad you like it. Check back for more interesting information.
Lisa Greene-Lewis
It’s difficult to find knowledgeable people on this subject, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Actually Jed, when you drink, I am forced to ingest the highly volatile and carcinogenic alcohol fumes evaporating from your drink. You don’t see or smell them, but they ARE there, and using the Antismokers’ arguments of “No Safe Level!” then drinking should obviously be banned from public settings like bars and restaurants. After all, why should those poor workers be forced to work under such conditions?
See my writing at the British Medical Journal on this: Google these four terms without quotes and read my “Secondary Smoke, Alcohol and Deaths” there:
martini mcfadden USDHHS viscusi
Also: regarding the repeated claims here that cigarette taxes are going to cover the health care of smokers, that is simply false: Smokers are actually subsidizing the health care of NONsmokers. To see the fully referenced argument on that, Google:
Pflicht viscusi mcfadden
and read “Taxes, Costs, and the MSA.” If anyone has any specific, substantive criticisms or questions about either piece, feel free to share them here: I’ll be happy to respond!
- MJM
U r annoying
Thank you Adam! Always happy to make an impression on someone’s day!
MJM
Whats sad is that people can’t see what they are doing!!! All there problems that are happening!!! Most of the deaths that happen from smoking are from 2nd hand smoking. It’s really sad! It’s almos suiside!!! Your going to die sooner or later!!! Your killing your self!!!
Insurance cost, Please!!! Dozens of people at my work are playing the ” Medical Leave ” game, none of them smokers but thats OK with you! I have stopped smoking and the most rewarding thing is not health or money saved but the tax dollars you whinny non smokers are going to have to suck up from the tax dollars that arent there from my pack of cigarettes! Puff on that one bub!
Sorry! I didn’t realize just how old this thread was. Most of the people I asked questions of will probably not even see them so if they don’t respond it shouldn’t be held against them! I’ll still check back though.
- MJM
How many of you holier than thou people do everything perfectly. You bash smokers while 95% of you have driven over the legal drinking limit! The point is not the smokers the point is the tax! They can tax us as much as they want on whatever item they feel like!
obviously U.S. and other countries trying to extort money from china through tobacco and carbon emission taxes,both are the wrong way to do business and the U.S. is suffering the consequences of self taxation.Coal a U.S. natural abundant resource could produce power for the next 1000 years,using clean coal technology,but coal power plants are being demolished and the only backup plan is poisonous nuclear power,with no 100,000 year storage or containment plan.Gas and cigarette prices taking what little money consumers have to spend
Number of cigarettes smoked annually in the U.S.=331 BILLION.
331 billion divided by 20= 16.5 BILLION packs.
16.5 billion packs times $1.0066=$16.6 BILLION in federal tax.
Why does your graph show tax dollars in the millions? And forgetting all about state taxes;what is our federal government doing with all that money?
Cigarettes exist for taxes and population control…all the anti-smoking talk and campaigns are for show.. If the govt wanted to it could outlaw them tomorrow but then they’d go broke and not enough people would die from smoking related causes…
Consider ourselves… “Free Range Humans”
It looks like state governments are as addicted to cigarette taxes as smokers are to cigarettes! If not, why wouldn’t they ban such a dangerous product?
they might be addicted to the money…but all the money is going to pay for the medical Heath of people who smoke.
They mat be addicted to the money…but most of it is going toward paying for the health problems of smoking
South Carolina is now $.57 on a pack. No more cheap Clemson smokes!
The whole idea behind tobacco tax is to encourage people to smoke less but over time the real reason seems to have disappeared and the tobacco tax was seen as a way to generate more revenue for the state.
This represents another good idea that took on a different path due to politics.
At least when I drink you don’t have too swallow. When you smoke I’m forced to breathe in your habit.
Take it outside please.
Jed, you do not have to be around me, if you do not like my smole then you have the right to go away from me. I do not come to your property and smoke, do not come around me and complain about my smoke. Nobody is forcing you to be where I am.
In the first graph, looks like Federal Collections should be read and State Collections should be blue
The problem is, it is nobody’s damn business what I take into my body. Rat poison or cigarettes. Keep your hands off my body! It is a supposidly free country, but don’t try to sit in your back yard smoking a joint, or they will arrest you. The only reason that cigarettes and alcohol are still allowed is that they can collect these “sin” taxes on them. It is time to take the government out of our personal lives. It’s time we wrested control of our bodies back from the government.
Well said, I agree
But what about the harmful effects of cigarettes on the environment? Cigarette butts account for around 24.7% of the world’s garbage each year. What about the harmful effects of cigarettes on non-smokers from secondhand smoke? Secondhand smoke lingers in the air, even in the open, and causes cardiovascular problems in individuals.
Stephanie, I challenge you to find even ONE actual scientific study available for us to read here on the net showing ANY real harm to people from outdoor smoking levels. Please look… you’ll find there aren’t any. You also won’t find any showing harm from the amounts of smoke you’d commonly find today in any decently ventilated workplace environment that allows smoking.
And finally, your “garbage” statistic is just … well… garbage. I don’t know where you got it from, but I can guess how it was arrived at. They probably extrapolated from counting “units” of trash found on beaches or on city sidewalks outside of bars etc here in the States. Am I correct? And a cigarette butt floating in a lake is counted as being equal to an abandoned car in the same lake?
- MJM
I think the first graphic is missing at least 3 zeros on the Y axis. I suspect the numbers are billions, not millions. The graphs that follow would tend to support that theory.
Mark
and people wonder why they are trying to ban electronics cigs. cant tax those, no tobacco.
Matt, taxes is just a way of government robbing us. they are so big and powerful now that we do not have a chance against them unless we all stand together. As long as we pay taxes, the government gets sronger and stronger and they will always come up with a way to rob us and take away more of our rights.
Who cares … seriously. Its time to quit smoking, you are doing nothing but wasting vast amounts of cash on something that is slowly killing you.
My grandfather quit smoking after 30+ years of it and I quit after 15 years. If we were both able to do it without going back, you can do it too.
It would be nice to see the unprecedentedly huge settlement monies included in the infographics too. These lawsuit monies were to go toward healthcare. Remember?
If only we’d used those brainwashing resources against the fast food industry instead of tobacco. Smokers are healthier than the obese, and that’s a fact Jack. Gluttony kills.
Dan:
It has been done. Fact of the matter is, only a very small percentage of cigarettes taxes are actually allocated for the “intended purpose”. In fact, it’s the major reason there’s an unethical fight and smear campaign being launched against the “electronic cigarette” despite the many studies showing they are safe. They are seriously cutting into the sin tax profits states are misappropriating.
The problem with comparing to health care costs associated with tobacco usage is a futile exercise since a majority of health issues attributed to smoking are subjective. If a person dies of lung cancer and does not smoke it is attributed to genetics. Now if that same person smoked then it would be attributed to cigarettes. The whole campaign against smoking is simply a ruse to put more money in the government pockets. It’s an easy target.
How about including the money saved on healthcare by so many smokers dying young?
In the UK they did this and the savings on geriatric care and pensions outweighed the extra healthcare required by live smokers many times over.
Obviously a different situation in the US without state funded healthcare and pensions.
But with all this money coming in how much goes right back out to pay for lung cancer treatments, heart disease, in home & assisted living costs for people on oxygen and 50 other health problems caused by smoking ?
I never understood this about Obamas health care reform. He said the uninsured were costing the health care industry billions or however much every year, so now everyone is suppose to have insurance or be fined ?
What about himself ? He is a smoker and still smokes, what about the billions of $$ is costs to care for all of them ?
Bob, I’d suggest the same reading for you that I just suggested above for Chelsea. If you have any specific, substantive criticisms of anything I wrote there please feel free to share them here: I promise I won’t mind, and I’ll try to stop back to respond.
- MJM
Well, why focus on the money? Why focus on what is earned from cigarettes or what is lost? What about the lives that are lost and people’s health that is destroyed? Why is money more important than people’s health and lives? I’m still undecided as to whether cigarette smoking should be banned completely or whether it should be banned in public places but still be allowed in private.
im sorry i dont know how to put this lightly but what people do to themselvs is absolutly nobody elses bussiness but there own are you going to tell them to quit smoking wat do you think they will say?you look at smoking wrong.look at it like this its a recreation its lesisure time.luxury.indeed its a luxury.people feel good when they smoke and in exchange they trade thier health it would be bad to yo to smoke.but others enjoy it .understand?
Stephanie, you say “Why focus on the money?” Well, if you look up to the top of this page, that’s what the article is about. If you look around you’ll find that it’s usually the ANTIsmokers who yell about money all the time: either they want more from the government and smokers for their programs or they lie about smokers costing nonsmokers money for health care — despite, as you saw above in my well-referenced link, the fact that smokers overall cost taxpayers LESS than nonsmokers!
- MJM
I wonder what this infographic would look like if it compared this data to the money spent on health care and other things that are caused by tobacco consumption.
Dan,
That is a very good idea. I will share it with our team. Thanks for stopping by!
Chelsea from TurboTax
Chelsea, I would recommend you read my short and well-referenced online piece, “Taxes, Social Costs, and the MSA” at:
You will find a well referenced argument that smokers are actually subsidizing the lifetime healthcare costs of NONsmokers — so the reverse of the intent of Dan’s suggestion is likely to be what you’ll eventually find.
I’d also suggest including sales taxes and the MSA tax on smokers. I believe those add about another ten billion dollars or so in extra taxes that smokers are contributing to everyone else.
Michael J. McFadden
Author of “Dissecting Antismokers’ Brains”
Good question Dan. I say tax it another couple dollars to fund the Reform Costs. I’d also legalize marijuanna and tax the daylights out of it too help.