Prices rise, smokers quit.
Earlier tonight, Mark Morford tweeted:
Really? Death, cancer, rotted teeth, emphysema, heart disease etc won't get u to quit, but 60 cents will? Fucking hell. http://bit.ly/aOv7w
Now, to be fair, addiction is a tough thing to beat. But Morford has a point. There are tons of good reasons to quit, so why is a mere 60¢ the straw that breaks the smoker's back? Okay, I suppose if you smoke a pack a day, times 365 days in a year, that 60¢ adds up... But the same can be said of the amount of money you already spend on smoking, tax or no tax.
It is, of course, a problem of deferment vs. immediacy. Smokers are able to rationalize around the future health problems, because they feel like they're so far off. If, on the other hand, you have to pay 60¢ more for today's pack, that's happening today. And the cigarette manufacturers are planning on you being too addicted to really stop, so they'll keep making their money.
Still, it happens every time there's a price raise. "We won't stand for this! We'll quit!" Good, I hope you do. You'll live longer, and be happier and healthier while you're at it. You can spend all that cigarette money on something more positive. The evil tobacco companies will stop making money from the manipulation of your addiction and go out of business. Healthcare costs will go down - not just for you, but for the passive smokers around you, as well.
But if you're serious about quitting, you need a good strategy, aimed at going beyond conscious efforts (gums, patches, willpower) to help you become a non-smoker (as opposed to a cravings-plagued ex-smoker). You don't want to backslide and light up again, only to quit in protest the next time prices go up, do you? How about a plan that lets you keep smoking until you're really ready to quit for good, because it finally feels right to do so?
Really? Death, cancer, rotted teeth, emphysema, heart disease etc won't get u to quit, but 60 cents will? Fucking hell. http://bit.ly/aOv7w
Now, to be fair, addiction is a tough thing to beat. But Morford has a point. There are tons of good reasons to quit, so why is a mere 60¢ the straw that breaks the smoker's back? Okay, I suppose if you smoke a pack a day, times 365 days in a year, that 60¢ adds up... But the same can be said of the amount of money you already spend on smoking, tax or no tax.
It is, of course, a problem of deferment vs. immediacy. Smokers are able to rationalize around the future health problems, because they feel like they're so far off. If, on the other hand, you have to pay 60¢ more for today's pack, that's happening today. And the cigarette manufacturers are planning on you being too addicted to really stop, so they'll keep making their money.
Still, it happens every time there's a price raise. "We won't stand for this! We'll quit!" Good, I hope you do. You'll live longer, and be happier and healthier while you're at it. You can spend all that cigarette money on something more positive. The evil tobacco companies will stop making money from the manipulation of your addiction and go out of business. Healthcare costs will go down - not just for you, but for the passive smokers around you, as well.
But if you're serious about quitting, you need a good strategy, aimed at going beyond conscious efforts (gums, patches, willpower) to help you become a non-smoker (as opposed to a cravings-plagued ex-smoker). You don't want to backslide and light up again, only to quit in protest the next time prices go up, do you? How about a plan that lets you keep smoking until you're really ready to quit for good, because it finally feels right to do so?