Well that sucks...

[jhedrick83]

Don't ever think this is about children or blunts. Don't think you have any rights as a 'consenting adult' either. Fact is, health care in the USA has been quasi-socialist for decades and now it's approaching full, unapologetic socialism. This puts the health care costs of the masses on the shoulders of relatively few payers and they don't think you should smoke. Fact is, the more tobacco consumed, the higher the net cost of health care. Sure, this is about 'the children' to a point - nobody thinks 8 year old Jimmy should be sporting a pack of smokes. But the larger issue is keeping little Jimmy from becoming a smoker in his adult life because smokers cost more to care for than non smokers. All this is about is reducing the net consumption of tobacco by the masses. Your rights be damned. And it really grinds me that for years now, so many pro-nannystate morons have been clamoring for the government to "do something about health care costs" and now it's happening. If that's one of you reading this post, Geez you asshole, thanks a lot!

Now get ready for Big Brother to start regulating your bacon.

If they want to mitigate rising healthcare costs, they should be going after people like Martin Shkreli or Valent Pharmaceuticals, not the consumer. I'd wager a large amount that the majority of increases in costs are based on gouging of the consumer than the overall health of Americans declining. Our cigars aren't the problem, guys like this are the problem:



Michael Jackson looking *&#^*&%#

[Emperor Zurg]

If they want to mitigate rising healthcare costs, they should be going after people like Martin Shkreli or Valent Pharmaceuticals, not the consumer. I'd wager a large amount that the majority of increases in costs are based on gouging of the consumer than the overall health of Americans declining.

Well sh!t flows down hill. Pharmaceutical companies have money and lobbyists. That puts them on higher ground than mom & pop cigar rolling operations. Plus, you have to be very careful when you talk about cutting profits on Pharmaceutical companies because as soon as it becomes unprofitable to fund R&D on new medicines there will be no new medicines. You think those companies are researching cures for cancer and AIDS out of the goodness of their hearts? Hell no, they're doing it because they stand to make billions if they come up with a working cure.

Second, the health care consumer, in large part, doesn't pay for his prescription drugs. His insurance plan does. Therefore he could care less about what the pills cost, all he knows is that his premiums are too high already and they keep going up. So that's what he bitches about and that's how he casts his vote: "LOWER MY INSURANCE COSTS, DAMMIT!!" The trouble (IMO) is that there are far too many people looking to the government for help. I don't want their help. I just want to pay my own way without their help and be free to choose my health care in a truly capitalist system... but we are far removed from that possibility today.

[Woodted]

I just want to pay my own way without their help and be free to choose my health care in a truly capitalist system... but we are far removed from that possibility today.

Problem is, there are too many that want to suck off the system rather than fend for themselves!