You need to vote out all incumbents over and over on every election until they get the message that they are not protecting the intersts of the majority of Floridians but are protecting self interests, political pacts, big oil, big insurance, and all other special interest groupd like the American Cancer Society, which is just a front for easy money and high executive salaries, with very little going to anyone. They say, oh well, it goes for RESEARCH? They haven’t cured any diseases in over 60 years, the last being polio, as they do not want to cure any disease as disease is BIG Business and BIG Bucks for the doctors and pharmacutical companies. They just get enough approved by the FDA, to just barely CONTROL the illness with drugs until you die.
Hopefully, Obama will end this outrage in medicine and exhorbent fees by these self centered doctors who think they should all be millionaires as soon as they exit medical school instead of working hard their whole life to make a million!!!!

I believe we should legalize weed and then tax the crap out of it, and finally illegalize it again.

But while its legal, we can tag all of the weed users, their socials and home addresses. And when we illegalize it, we then go after them and take all of their crap and arrest them(fine them high), and we would have proper cause to search their homes.

And we can repeat this process for the other dope out there.

Hey Everyone smoking pot instead of cigarettes sounds like a good idea.  Except…If everyone started smoking pot, then the government would not get the tax money they want, and they might make pot legal, which sounds like a good thing, but….Then after they make it legal they would tax the heck out of it!  Bad Deal! Then again you can grow your own pot.  Hey, you can even grow your own tobacco!  That’s what I am looking into!

$32.00 a carton of cheap cigarettes with all tax, can last a person 5-7 days. A bag of weed cost $30, or $100.00 for 4 bags of weed, one bag of weed can last a person 9-12 days, assuming you are smoking 1-2 joints a day, each joint can last up to 8-10 hours if you do not abuse it.

So if a month supply of cigs costs you $128.00, a month supply of weed cost you less then $75.00, and cigs gives you cancer and weed gives you munchies and laughter at stuff like high taxes and charging locals for the pier, then your mind should be made up.

Yes weed is illegal, but look at what they are doing with cigarettes, common sense says this will be illegal too eventually.

Weed is not a gateway to other drugs, we just tell our kids this, but its not true for adults, if so, then cigarettes would be a gateway too and beer.

If weed users increases rapidly due to the high cost of cigarettes, the government and law would be checkmated.

We need propaganda for this to work as they did for cigs

“If the Govt really wanted to help people quit they would outlaw cigarettes. Almost all other carcinogens have been taken off the market but the cigs march on. Now the govt is hooked on the cigarette taxe money and its a worse addiction than nicotine.”

In reply to this I can only remind you of what happened when the government outlawed Alcahol!  People are going to do what they want to do.  The government can not save everyone!  They need to take care of the COUNTRY and leave us individuals alone.  I know how to grow tobacco and it is not a crime to grow it.  Till I can get some growing, I will go out of state to get my cigarettes, or buy them on line.  And when they can’t get the money they want because people aren’t buying them watch out Alcahol and Sodas will be Next!!!  Maybe even french fries!!! LOL

If the Govt really wanted to help people quit they would outlaw cigarettes. Almost all other carcinogens have been taken off the market but the cigs march on. Now the govt is hooked on the cigarette taxe money and its a worse addiction than nicotine.

ssmith, where in this article do you see anything concerning guns or the 2nd amendment? What does the cigarette tax have to do with guns?

just returned from alabama,,,shopping ,,,,and since the smokes were so much cheaper i also decided to buy groceries and gas,,,all total the difference was about a $150.00,,to the plus side,,,so now florida you have just lost more from me than your cigarette would have ever made you,,,thanks for the change

It is true that there is no tax on items purchased at the exchange, but the prices have gone up there as well.  The commissary charges a surcharge fee for goods purchased there.  Just because you are in the military does not mean that you don’t spend money and pay taxes on items purchased off base (which on base is limited at times) and as for that they don’t have pay taken out of there pay checks…WOW…wish that had been true.

amaes, someone earlier said that people that go and shop on base doesnt have to pay taxes on cigs? i dont know if that true? is it? if so everyone just find someone in the military and get hem to buy your smokes.. for me if i cant, alabama here i come, ill be taking orders for my friends…

This new tax has nothing to do with getting people to quit smoking cigarettes. It’s to get more money out of people before they quit smoking cigarettes.

These are facts: Since the mass anti-smoking compaign started in the 90’s, cigarette smokers has been decreasing every year, and less and less of new smokers (young people).

So why the new taxes? Because the states are losing money now, money they have counted on in their state budgets. So for every person who quits or does not start smoking, one of us smokers will have to PAY FOR IT.

learyv@53 are you serious?? Hate to be the one to inform you but the military payes taxes right along with everyone else.

When taxes on ammunition or firearms are raised people say “Good we don’t need guns” and don’t see the big picture that it opens the door to tax other things.  The same rule goes for people not caring about the 2nd Amendment, if it is taken away what is next the 1st then the 5th.  When people stop only looking at what directly affects their life and start seeing the big picture then the American people will stop being divided and conquered.

take taxes out of the militarys pay they live in a tax free world .and get discounts and 1/2 price stuff so tax the governent

I am all about taxing Alcahol!!!  Alcahol kills more people than cigarettes!  And Cigars STINK!!!  I would much rather smell a cigarette than a cigar!!@!@!@!  But I am like the rest of you I will be going to the state line and getting mine in AL or GA.  I have already cut back BEFORE this new tax.  The last one was bad enough!@!  If our cost of living supported such a tax I couldn’t say anything, but we all know we are ALL underpaid in this state!!!

why don’t they tax what really kills,beer-whiskey, and other alcohol products, and cell phones.TAX THE HELL OUT OF CELL PHONES ,bring back land line phones something that dont take you mind off driving. land of the free, i dont think so.

I say do not give a dime to any organized charity like the American Cancer Society, Red Cross, or any of them to protest this discriminatory tax! This way, the tax won’t be so bad as you can cut back and gice zero to these organized crime charities that use all the so called charity money for administration costs to pay their executives in excess of a $100,000 a year salary, and very little to actual poor people. Any charity that doesn’t give 100% of the money to the cause is really not a charity but a business!
I say vote out every incumbent in every political office in Florida on every election until they all get the message that number one, they work for the people, not BIG BUSINESS! Number two, they are there to serve the majority of PEOPLE, not PACTS,BIG OIL, or BIG INSURANCE! Number three, you better perform or you will be fired!
These bums think they are ENTITLED to be re-elected? They are ENTITLED to think for the majority and know what’s good for them! What GALL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m a smoker and addicted since the 70’s, mostly because I was taught it was cool and no harm would be done to me. And later I found out it was bull but too late.

My kids understands and is against smoking, my teens says its not much different then dope. They wish I could quit.

I approve that new bill thats going to decrease the dope level in tobacco, this would help me to quit. However, jumping on the bandwagon now by increasing the tax because they are aware that the new bill will help people to quit, meaning less money for the state in the future, so tax the crapp out of them now before its too late. Well thats just greedy and contradicts the meaning of these bills.

We need to work on the real dope problems and alcohol problems before tackling the tobacco problems. You dont want street dope and beer to be cheaper then cigarettes, you know?

10 of my smoking friends have already made up a schedule of who drives to Alabama which week to buy cartons of cigarettes. This tax really does appear to be unfair to me. A definite discriminatory tax. Why not raise the tax on beer 2 cents a can or bottle? Think of how much money they could raise from that. Or tax fast food or high fat food more. The American Caner Society did nothing to help when my mother was dying from cancer. And the article states that, “The $1 billion worth of revenue that will go towards the $ 1.3 billion already spent on Medicaid for smoking related illnesses.” What about the people who are not on Medicaid? How does this tax help them? It definitely sounds unfair to me.

One of the bills supporters was the American Cancer Society.
These so called charities have become Political Pacts. The legislators have been working for them along with BIG Insurance, Big Oil, and other Action groups. The legislators do not work for you any longer, the majority of Floridians! They forgot who they are supposed to be working for and who elected them. It is time to vote out all incumbents in every election until they get the message of who they work for!
I wouldn’t give one dime to the American Cancer Society as just try and ask them for help when you have a sick relative dying of cancer!
They will send you some brochures and will state that alot of the money is for RESEARCH ?
they haven’t cured any diseases in over 50 years, since Polio! These organizations are just big business with lots of high paid officials and administrators with hardly a dime going to poor people who can’t afford cancer treatment.
Call them and ask them for money for cancer drugs and see!

Here we go again, does anyone really think the money will go for medical bills,,the state spends no money at all on smoking related illnesses,just ask the patients,oh that’s right they are dead cuz they could not afford medical treatment.However i bet ole gov. christ will have his pool cleaned.

You smokers have been singled out for a discriminatory tax as this tax is not shared by all citizens.
They say it’s for health reasons and the extra revenue will go towards health!
Why not then increase the tax on bacon or fattening foods? Most obese people also drive up medical care costs as they usually have a multitude of health problems including the very most expensive one, diabetes. So I say, tax fast food,sugar, and fried foods! This would be more fair than a tax on tobacco as it already has sky high taxes.
Do you really think the non-smoking obese lawmakers who sit on their fat cans all day would tax THEIR products?
I say vote out all these incumbent scum bags as that is the only way you will ever see REAL CHANGE! They do not work for you anymore but work for theirselves, Political PACTS, BIG OIL, and BIG INSURANCE! They have forgotten who they are working for as they have become lax in their jobs and do not care about what the MAJORITY of Floridians want! Vote them out!

As far as I am concerned, with the amount of taxes we smokers are paying, we keep this country running. It’s downright un-American if you don’t smoke!

heck no, then you would cost them money, another tidbit, guess what other tabacco item wont be going up?? cigars, i wonder if the waste of skin that sponsered this law smokes cigars? or maybe his friends,, id put a paycheck on it! we need someone with enough time and money to challenge this “law” my money will be going out of florida too, so thumbs down reps, i hope you all lose next election!!

dam nonsmokers and xsmokers think the have the right to tell us smokers what to do
most of them are drinkers why not tax the hell out of booze???