Rath on 12 August 2009
A) Muslims != smokers. Sorry but they really are not the same thing.
B) Sick days are not personal costs. They are huge costs to the economy of the country.
C) I think that taxing cigarettes decreases the number of users (especially the number of people starting the habit) and has the happy side effect of putting a lot of money into the health system. Plus, smoking and alcohol both have negative effects outside of the person consuming them - smoking through second hand smoke and alcohol through drunkeness along with the monetary cost to society at large of both. Hence I believe taxation of both (despite the fact that I enjoy alcohol) to be fair.
