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Before you begin spewing "tough love" bile all over the screen, let me tell you a little bit about the Cigarette Tax.

First, calm your regard for my opinion as biased, let me further clarify that I do not, have not, and do not intend on ever taking up the addiction of smoking.

State Cigarette Excise Tax varies from $2.48 in New Jersey, to a mere 7 cents in South Carolina, with the average being roughly $1.07. Federal cigarette tax as of 2006 is 39 cents per pack.

The most obvious reason that the government created the Cigarette Tax was for revenue recovery.

On the other hand, the most controversial reason that the government created the Cigarette Tax was to reduce the number of smokers in the United States and in their own State.

I've never met a smoker who doesn't acknowledge that the addiction is not a healthy one. I've also never met a smoker who doesn't acknowledge that they're addicted. While the Lindsay Lohans and Britney Spears of the world are in and out of rehab for one addiction or another, can you imagine telling your boss you're taking 2 weeks off to quit smoking? Cigarette rehab? Betty Marlboro clinic? Cigarette rehab programs exists...but you'll be hard-pressed to find a clinic that takes your addiction as seriously as an alcoholic, or enough to make you anything but an outpatient who has 15 minute counseling sessions once a week.

The facts show that increases in Cigarette Taxes generally lead to a reduction of approximately 4.5% in the year following the official introduction of the tax. In the following few years the purchases will return near their first level, but never reach the first level of revenue. Do you see the problem?

Do you remember what the government's first objective was? It was increased revenue, right? Well, there's a problem. If we were in Magicland and the government successfully raised the Cigarette Tax and the sales stayed the same, then of course the government would make a lot more revenue.

On the other hand, that would defeat the purpose of their other objective, which was to reduce the number of United States citizens who smoke.

So, let's go back to Magicland and accomplish that objective. Now, they increase the Cigarette Tax and the number of United States citizens who smoke reduces; or more likely, the amount of cigarettes they smoke per day decreases. So, the Cigarette Tax revenue? Stays the same? Or increases slightly?

The harsh reality is that the Cigarette Tax, while it was a valiant

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