Where there's smoke, there's anger at Beach cigarette tax

My, my Kate did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or what? You have made it abundantly clear that you dislike smokers, but really your name calling is quite a bit much, don't you agree?

Gabrielle you are right....still doesn't mean that anybody cares about the tuff times smokers are coming into...I realize my taxes are going to rise in other places but if this does anything to curb cig smoke I have to deal with then great.

Oh, you poor, "addicted" smokers!!! How dreadfully unfair to put a tax increase on your vile, filthy, selfish, destructive habit. Now if we could just get you anti-social deviants to pick up the nasty butts you so freely toss along out highways and neighborhoods maybe we'd be getting somewhere.

"""horace1105 remember we do not come into this world craving or needing nicotine to survive. """

Actually our bodies do need a form of it. Niacin is nothing more than nicotinic acid with a name that removes the negative association. It is also found in tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes.

What happens when something is way over-priced or way over-taxed, or even both? Their sales decrease to an eventual zero dollar amount. People would finally cave in to high prices/taxes, health concerns, Ydoit commercials, and all the rest out there and decide to quit smoking. The domino effect of that would come across the laps of the powers-that-be as decrease tax revenue.

So all this money that a city/region/so forth was to make off of smokers, has dwindled or died out. So that tax must be shifted right? So guess what. Non-smokers WILL get the former cigarette tax absorbed into something else that is involved in their life. THEN I'm sure we would hear even more moaning.

"i could understand a tax to fund a stop smoking clinic"

That's an excellent idea and I think it should be pursued, but there will be many that will call it a socialist welfare handout program. Sometimes we just can't win!

horace1105 remember we do not come into this world craving or needing nicotine to survive. Smoking is a choice. So if someone is addicted they willingly chose to be. Get the patch if you do not want to be taxed. Everything will get its turn when it comes to being taxed. Their is no human need for smoking or alcohol. Tax all day long...It's called freedom which if you are aware is not free it costs money...And as far as welfare housing being built..accept it...it is never gonna end due to the fact that people have realized thwey can be worthless and smoke crack all day and the govt will pay for it. It'll never end people. Move on.

i am a non smoker,but something that seems really cruel,your want to fund your projects by peoples misfortune,how many deaths due to tobacco will it cost to fund your project.these people are addicted to nicotine and you just keep taking advantage of them because of the addiction they will pay whatever it costs.i could understand a tax to fund a stop smoking clinic for people that really want to and cant.but like someone else said here the revenue like anything once you get the money flowing you just want more.tobacco company's lied to smokers for so many years,and they are still taken advantage of in almost the same way.

I think I'll go have a smoke...

"Why can not the resturants put up glass enclosures, just like at airports, and then the smokers can rebreathe the smoke they so cherish without pushing their dirty habit (addiction) on me and all others that do not want their smoke"

Maybe if you say please to Joe's they will put the glass in for you. If not, go to the hundred's of restaurants that don't allow ANY smoking. Problem solved!

We Can pass a law to prevent smokers from polluting the air others are forced to breathe in a public resturant, BUT we Can Not pass a law to prevent the smoke from a forrest fire from drifting into an area where people live and thereby breathe the air. For Silcnlayc to equate the two senarios as equal is obsurd and simply without logic. One is voluntary and one is involuntary. One is predictable one is unpredictable. No Comparison Period..

Please read this line from the article again, "Spore has said the money generated by the increase, about $2.4 million, will finance projects in the city's strategic growth areas." Huh? Friends we don't need to jack up taxes to pay for more real estate boondoggles!!! We need tax relief. We need new schools. We need our roads improved. Yet, once again we have a City Manager jacking up taxes to fund more corporate welfare boondoggles. Folks, we are taxed far more than we should be - because the city government is more focused on development then providing only required services.

There's a new video game for the Wii and XBox 360. Check it out! It's called SmokemIfyaGottem - The Lung Cancer Chronicles You get to use the Joe-Camel-Smoker-Throat-Controller. (bonus voice-box adapter is included). Guide your hero as he runs through a series of deadly obstacles to defeat the evil Health Nut King.
Key gameplay features:
-The more you inhale, the fast and stronger your character grows.
-The more cigarettes you successfully finish, the more experience points you earn.
-Earn special powers as your Nicotine Bucket fills to capacity. Cash this liquid gold in for amazing powers like enhanced lung capacity and ultra-suction lips.
-Earn bonus points for winning smoking "duals".
-Unlock hidden features by smoking 5 cigarettes at once in under 60 seconds.
-Lung cancer patients entitled to a 25% discount.
-Rated E for everyone.

Thats great silcnlayc. Let me put it this way... If I wanted to knowingly suck garbage into my lungs I could walk over to a running car and suck on the exhaust. Ahhhhh so refreshing! Now thats some good 87 octane!

So thank you for the attempt at humor. I was not blaming smokers for my poor air quality or global warming for that matter. And nice use of the cool-aid slang. But your argument is null and the logic used... faulty.

Of course there is pollution in the air and in some areas more than others. The water isn't that clean either... there's fire in NC, thanks for pointing that out. Well hey, the sand is hot and the sky is blue!

The point is IMO you can smoke your heart out but you should also take responsibility for your own actions, health risks, and that the people who profit from your self-induced disease pay for your treatment.

You can smoke your tennis shoe if that's what floats your boat. But you'd l

"Georgia says: Why do smokers continue to feel that they have some kind of "right" to pollute the air I breathe."

I guess the thick fog of smoke from all the hundreds of thousands of acres of trees burning doesn't have a thing to do with the smoke you are smelling and breathing in...that smoke is just like a breath of fresh air I guess to you..
Being a nonsmoker, I can smell the stench in my clothes, in my office, in all the stores I have been in and I didn't see one smoker smoking...why is that, that I can still smell it but no one is smoking??
As I said, you are already breathing in noxious fumes from more deadly things than a smokers cigarette..the propoganda out has convinced millions it is the smokers to blame for all cancers..even to the ones that have never smoked..such as childrens cancers...

Who and what will be blamed once all smokers are gone? Who will be taking the fall then for cancers? Get real people..it isn't just the smokers..

Because yours is a foul, filthy, unhealthy and disgusting habit!!

Raise the taxes even more on tabacco and liquor too!! Then fix our roads with the money...Less butts litering the highways and less drunks causing accidents....a slam dunk!
It is about time! Why do smokers continue to feel that they have some kind of "right" to pollute the air I breathe. I was in Joe's Crab Shack in Hampton yesterday and after being seated specifically, in the non-smoking section, I was subjected to 3 smokers not 2 feet away blowing their after dinner smoke in my dinner area. The table beside me had an infant and were also upset about the smoke cloud being blown in our "non-smoking area". If the resturant advertises the area as non-smoking then it should be non-smoking...not almost non-smoking. Why can not the resturants put up glass enclosures, just like at airports, and then the smokers can rebreathe the smoke they so cherish without pushing their dirty habit (addiction) on me and all others that do not want their smoke.

I would suggest the citizens of Virginia Beach build a hot air balloon and escape to a neighboring city..

Everyone who's happy about the cigarette tax increase, just remember - the city will never stop spending that money. Once they've taxed cigarettes to the point that everone quits and the air is clean and there's no more second hand smoke to offend anyone, they're not going to stop spending that tax money - they're going to get from somewhere (and someone) else. I don't smoke and I certainly don't want to have to make up the budget shortfalls when there's no smokers left to tax.

Ok now that I've got the attention of some smokers... it's your body do whatever you want. But please please please can you stop flicking your cigarette butts out of the window?? It IS LITTERING and please don't tell me "Oh I don't want to stink my car up." because it's too late you already have. You can buy a little plastic "butt can" for probably under $2 at Wal-Mart. I don't even smoke cigs but have one in my car for the people who do. If you remember, take a look at our gutters and just anywhere. Look at all those cigarette butts. If every smoker had a can in their car you would be doing so much to help the EARTH! I mean, if people quit littering all together, we wouldn't even be PAYING TAXES to have people come clean our trash for us. Don't you get it? If we all do our part we can make a huge difference. The number 1 most littered item is cigarettes and it saddens me that most people don't have common sense to kno

I am sick of hearing "boom boom boom" while sitting at traffic lights and the damage to my hearing and loosening of components of my vehicle from low frequecy vibrations. To hell with freedom and choice unless of course it effects "YOU"!

myra and the good ol boys on the council dont have to worry about me complaining about the increase tax ive been buying my smokes in elizabeth city for almost 5 yrs when the tax on cigs and alachol went up to fund some of the other self serving projects in the city. i dont mind buying them there since i go there 2x a month to see the grand children.

If they keep raising the taxes, all people will do is turn to the black market and get their smokes, causing more problems for law enforcement.

I buy mine in Kentucky and Missouri where the taxes are next to nothing, so perhaps here is a money-making opportunity for some enterprising soul, just like the Kennedy's did with booze during prohibition. Of course, it will lead to more theft as it always does, but those non-smokers won't take any of the responsibility for promoting the situation by supporting the higher taxes...

So keep screaming for higher taxes you crybabies, all you'll do is promote he black market and all the criminal types that will be the bain of your lives.

Everyone is always looking to tax cigarettes when extra money is needed. How about an alcohol tax? That would certainly increase revenues not only on a city level, but on a national level. It is also not fair that the city repeals taxes on certain businesses, but not on others. I realize that Stihl is a large manufacturer in our area, but why should they get special treatment. They should pay just like the rest of business owners in our area. Bob Dyer should be representing all business, not just big business. No one minds paying their fare share, but where will it end?

"Ptown says:Comparing the air we breath to willingly and repeatedly inhaling carcinogens"

Huh? You really are not making any sense..we are ALREADY breathing carcinogens "willingly" by the very air we breath and pointing fingers at a smoker is NOT going to give you cleaner air no matter what or how hard you try to place it on them about the air quality..good grief..if you believe you are breathing anything but polluted air..I want whatever you are drinking in your coolaid..and just because you cannot "see" it doesn't mean it's not there

Look at the wildfires burning out of control on both the east AND west coasts..but I guess this does not have anything to do with the smoke you are breathing in "willingly" either...some mornings you cannot even see next door it is so thick lately..geez..and this is not harming us right?? It's is a figment of our imagination and it's the darn smokers fault..al

According to the Congressional REsearch Service (by partisan research arm of congress) tobacco users pay MORE than they get in return. This is the reason the federal government has not raised tobacco taxes in many, many years, there is no justification for it.

Taxing one group of taxpayers to benefit all has long be SOP for government entities. However an increase in cigarette taxes by a government entity that seeks to prohibit the practice on private property is hypocritical.

You people have it all wrong............
It's not about cigarettes, second hand smoke, cancer, or health costs. It's about taxes and the city's unceasable need for tax dollars to hand over to developers for their grand plans for the Ocean Front. If they were taxing Lattes you might start to think differently.

Comparing the air we breath to willingly and repeatedly inhaling carcinogens... thats sounds like a fool's argument. Smoking is a life choice and if you want to do that to yourself then so be it. I don't think smoking should be banned but I do belive that public areas should be smoke free.

When you think about the crazy costs of hospitalization perhaps the 11 cent tax increased could be doubled or trippled and the money pooled to fund the hospitalization for lung cancer patients or even prepay for their early funerals? Think of the billions that would generate! Also a free iron-lung for each smoker when they reach 65.

Look at what is happening to India. Millions are dropping dead from smoking related diseases and most of you probably aren't aware of it. Google it and be astounded. Phillips Morris and the like should subsidize the health care industry since they are basically death.

Smoking is the leading cause of health problems in the US and is not only killing the people who smoke, but also our healthcare industry. If you want to smoke, I think you should surely have that right, but not on my penny. Charge as much as possible to deter people from smoking.

Not going to go into how bad smoking is including second hand smoke. Just like anything else, if you want it you have to pay the price. I doubt a lot will go to NC for lower tax-gas prices are so high the cost of driving there would be too high!!! They may have to make a choice, what they need more.