Cigarette tax hike promotes health
Regarding “Cigarette tax hike studied” (News, Feb. 14), in an industrial society, taxes are a necessary facet of government operation. Some taxes are more relevant and obviously need to be applied more than others. Such is the case of cigarette taxes. Here you have a product that is an option and not a necessity. It is consistently proven to be detrimental to one’s physical and financial health. For an individual to make a conscientious choice to harm himself is one thing; for that choice to be harmful to others is unacceptable. And that is certainly the case with cigarette smoking.
Study after study illustrate non-smokers are forced to subsidize smokers through disproportionately higher health costs and lower productivity in business. Raising state taxes on cigarettes to suggested levels will not truly cover smoking’s actual impact, but it will be a step towards that goal. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S., and increasing the cost of cigarettes may deter some individuals from smoking. For state lawmakers to fail to raise taxes on cigarettes is to shirk their responsibility towards the health and financial well-being of our citizens.
MICHAEL L. SHAW, STONE MOUNTAIN
Charles Seabrook a regional treasure
Please don’t push Charles Seabrook and his Wild Georgia column completely out of the paper. It is bad enough you have put him on the back page and shortened his articles so much. He is such a valuable asset to your paper and all of Georgia with his vast knowledge and experience that he should be considered a real treasure, not someone shoved off the front page of Saturday’s Living section. In my opinion, his articles should be featured every Saturday or more often on the front page.
HOLLACE G. FARMER, GOOD HOPE
Americans need to know meat origins
A federal district court handed lawyers for the meat industry a defeat; they had argued the requirement that meat labels show the country in which the animal was born, raised and slaughtered was a violation of the constitutional right to free speech.
By requiring the label to show such information, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was enforcing American law and the right of the American people to know where the meat they eat was raised and processed. Now the meat industry hopes the World Trade Organization will come to its rescue and tell the American government its laws are invalid and that we the people we do not have the right to know where our meat is coming from. Is it time for America do withdraw from the WTO? I think so.
BILL SMITH, STOCKBRIDGE
