The Alberta Tobacco Tax Act is keeping families in poverty.
Did you realize the provincial government takes $5 off the top on a package of cigarettes? That is more than half the price of the product.
The average person who smokes one pack a day is contributing $1,825 to the provincial coffers every year.
Now some provinces are suing the tobacco industries for millions of dollars. The industry will, of course, up the price of tobacco. The province is definitely gouging the poor smoker.
Nine per cent of our children live in poverty. It is this unjust tax that is keeping people and their children in financial poverty.
The government says smokers need to pay more to pay for the extra medical costs they incur, but $1,825 a year is already way too much.
It was a very questionable move when the provincial government decided to forego health-care premiums. It did not help anyone. Where do you think the money will come from to purchase the millions of dollars spent on the H1N1 vaccine?
It would be very informative to see the statistics that show that smokers are more of a drain on the health system than non-smokers. Maybe the non-smokers should thank us and not frown at us.
Lea Johnston
Red Deer