Oh, Just Stop Already.

Seriously, enough.  We all know that smoking is bad (mmk).  Anyone who has half a brain will tell you that now, but that does not stop people from doing it.  Why?  Because people make that choice despite all the great information in the world.  Meanwhile the CDC is spending $54 million of taxpayer money to pay advertisers to tell everyone what we already know. 

If our government was serious about smoking there is one thing to do that works, and so far one thing only: tax the hell out of it.  Does not cost taxpayers a dime, and people respond a whole lot faster to their wallets than they do to an advertisement they half-ignore for one or two minutes out of the day.  Doesn't cost taxpayers a dime. 

But they are not serious about smoking, and that is why as this article says, Phillip Morris is still raking in billions and billions each year.  Because despite research, despite advertising/propaganda, despite all the flowery speeches and warning labels people will smoke and that is their right.  But when they do, they impose a cost on the rest of us that I think should be compensated.  A lousy propaganda scheme isn't going to fix that, it will just let cigarette companies and smokers off the hook for payment.  Tax it!