I do believe the government has a part to play in all of this, but regulating or deciding what bad habits we can and cannot have is not it. I, myself, am a rational person and my choice to smoke is also rational. It’s my vice, my stress outlet. Some go to therapy or have a beer, I smoke a cigarette. To me, it’s worth the monetary costs. Stopping today would be far more ‘costly’ to me than to just buy another pack. The government’s role in this should be to inform ‘we the people’ of the risks and possibly even to impose a minimal tax, in areas such as tobacco and alcohol, to help offset the health-related costs that could arise from the unhealthy practices. Maybe the Social Security and Medicare benefits that are NOT collected by smokers that die due to a tobacco related illness could even be put toward some of the health care costs or programs everyone is so concerned with paying for.

Besides the taxes we on cigarettes, let’s talk about other areas in which the government profits from out bad habit. Many of us will pay in to Social Security and Medicare for many years, but due to tobacco-related illnesses, will die without ever collecting either. That’s money in the bank for the government. Econ

Some topics in this essay:
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