Why do smokers pay so much tax?

A smoker in the US state of Pennsylvania has raised a question that is obvious but that is very rarely given an airing: why should smokers pay a disproportionately-high level of taxation?

Writing on pennlive.com, Nancy Eshelman, said that she had smoked for more than 50 years and, during that time, ‘dropped a lot of money into the state coffers’.

‘I don’t mind paying tax on my cigarettes,’ she writes. ‘But why should I, and other smokers, provide nearly two-fifths of the new revenue that will balance the state’s new budget?

‘I’ll tell you why: because smokers suffer discrimination. We’ve been chased from public places, including bars, restaurants and even parks. When they kicked us out, we rolled over and said, “OK.”

‘We allow non-smokers to make us feel like second-class citizens.’

Eshelman points out that people who indulge in other risky activities, such as drinking alcohol and riding two wheelers do not suffer the same discrimination.

Her piece is at: http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/07/smokers_get_taxed_more_and_tre.html.