Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 30, 1993 TAG: 9304300421
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
I feel tobacco is being discriminated against unfairly. I know there is much debate over the health issue on both sides. One thing is for certain, smokers and nonsmokers get sick and both die. Either way you view this issue, does this give the government the right to make tobacco products unaffordable by unfair taxes?
Is it possible or right for the government to control the health habits of the American people? Daily in the newspapers and on television, we read and hear that foods such as eggs and artificial sweeteners, too much fat, exposure to industrial agents and the sun, chemicals, alcohol, etc., are known to create health hazards and premature death in certain individuals. Since all these things are contributing factors, how is it determined that one product is causing more deaths and illness than another? Should the government tax these products so high that they also are unaffordable? Where does it end?
I thought the American way was freedom of choice for legal products without unfair taxation. If a proposed $2 excise tax is placed on tobacco products, the economic impact could be disastrous in the tobacco-producing states and a way of life could be destroyed.
The farmer needs the support of all freedom-loving Americans. Tomorrow it may be your job, your industry or your pleasure under attack. RAY EMERSON SR. DRY FORK
by CNB