Another Dimension To Tobacco Taxes

Smoking cessation policies and interventions the world over have found one key policy strategy important - increasing tobacco tax. Tax economists have often explained their arguments for tax increases using the concept of the Laffer curve. They argue that a tax rate of zero produces no revenue. A tax rate of 100% causes people to change their behavior so as to avoid the tax. This produces nothing in terms of revenue. It therefore follows that as tax is increased people will continue adjusting their behavior to ensure that they do not pay that tax or at least as much tax.

This in general is the concept behind tobacco taxes. Policy makers have noted that when tobacco tax is increased a significant number of people makes some modifications in order to avoid the tax. This will include quitting smoking, reducing the number of cigarettes smoked and also preventing new smokers from starting. An interesting observation in America is that as some states increased taxes on tobacco some smokers reacted by stopping smoking altogether yet others found ways round the tax. In fact there are particular things that those wishing to pay the tax and to quit at the same time have done.

In fact the behavior of a particular group of smokers in reaction to the tax increases supports the arguments of some economists that higher taxes would encourage more people to find ways to evade or break the law. This smoker do it by choosing to drive to a place where the taxes are lower to buy cigarettes. Theoretical a raise in taxes has the effect of giving an increasing number of people an incentive to travel to a cheaper place for some cigarettes. Studies have then shown that an average smoker might be willing to travel the extra distance just to purchase cheaper tobacco cigarettes.

Then there is yet another dimension to this tax evasion - roll-your-own cigarettes. More and more smokers take advantage in the US of the federal tax loophole making it possible for retailers to offer them deep discounts on roll-your-own cigarettes. Smokers simply flock to retailers which have high speed rolling machines that, for example, are capable of producing a carton of cigarettes in eight minutes at less than half the price of a carton of Marlboro cigarettes the subject of heavy taxation.

Yet another dimension is that a small percentage of smokers estimated at about 08% evades taxes by bootlegging. There have been records of smokers ordering cigarettes over the internet from foreign countries and some even bringing them in from Indian reserves. A significant number of smokers, studies tell, think about quitting smoking. These therefore are people willing to quit but might not be just ready to. The then buy smalls packs instead of cartons at a time and might as well endure the taxation.

In general smoking taxation has been shown to be effective in countries such as Japan and for that reason has become the most followed model worldwide. In fact some countries have taken a deliberate decision to increase taxes each and every at an ongoing basis. The economic recession has even made tobacco taxation more effective.

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Public Smoking Ban Produces Results In Scotland

Scotland is located in Europe and is part of the broader United Kingdom. In march 2006 a ban on smoking in public places was introduced in Scotland as part of the ongoing European wide smoking cessation interventions and policies. The legislation which banned tobacco use in public places covered bars, restaurants workplaces and such other establishments. The research which revealed the success of the smoking band was a follow-up to the 2006 law.

It noted that the rate of hospital admissions for childhood asthma had sharply fallen since the introduction of the law. Amongst other dangers of second hand smoke derived from public smoking is asthma. This specifically affects children. Other effects of tobacco smoke to non-smokers who are exposed on a constant basis will include cancers and other life long ailments which may be respiratory in nature. The dangers of public smoking are behind the intense international quest spearheaded by WHO to reduce and control tobacco use.

The researchers note that the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act of 2006 has been extremely successful in its primary aim of reducing exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in public places. The particularly celebrate the fact that the law has reduce the exposure of children to environmental tobacco smoke despite concerns of smoking being displaced to the home. The study dine by the researchers in Scotland focused on collecting routine hospital administrative data. This data ascertained hospital admissions for asthma.

The research data collected from the hospital showed that before the smoking ban asthma admissions in hospitals were on the raise by an average 5.2 percent each year. Once the new law was implemented the researchers found that the rate of hospital admissions fell by some 18.2% per year going forward. These rates also covered kids of preschool and school-age. This outcome is one amongst many that confirm the effectiveness of smoking cessation policies that many countries across the world are swiftly implementing. Banning smoking in public places is an important intervention in stopping smoking endeavors.

However the researchers in Scotland noted that the study had some limitations particularly the fact that information regarding individual smoking status was not available and whether the observed reduction in asthma was a result of reduced exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in the home, reduced exposure to second hand smoke in public places or a reduction in teenage tobacco use. However a number of factors that included age group, sex, urban or rural residence had no effect on the outcome.

The positive reports coming out of Scotland are just a part of a global outcome of aggressive anti-tobacco campaigns. Despite these efforts, policy strategies will be required to continue changing if governments are to totally outwit the tobacco industry which is clearly determined to continue expanding its market especially amongst young people.

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Stop Smoking - Or Not

Do you want to stop smoking, or not? If you decide to stop, the best way to quit smoking is to get help and to follow a plan. You need to take the time to create a plan to stop. If you are addicted to nicotine then you need to look at a stop smoking product to help you slowly curb the nicotine addiction. With help coming in the form of stop smoking aids, as well as support from your friends and family, it will be very important to get all the help and support you can. When you stop you'll save a lot of money, it could easily be $1,500 - $2,000 a year on cigarettes. Once you stop smoking, your risk of heart disease is cut by half in only one year. It's hard to stop smoking but that stuff can kill you and your family.

You probably know the facts about smoking. You will seriously increase the risk to have heart disease, lung cancer, brain stroke just to name few.

Smoking is only a mental issue and you can deal with it only with your mind. So, If you want to easily quit smoking, try hypnosis, because it really works. Quitting smoking can be an uncomfortable experience, and cigarettes have given you something to do for a long time. When you smoke cigarette chemicals when you are smoking at home, then people at home or your family will also participate inhaling these substances, for a long time it will also affect their health, they will also inhale toxins and become passive smokers. Passive smoker's health risks is not much different from the active smoker, so stop smoking now. You'll have more energy, you'll breathe easier, and your children and other people in your home will be healthier too.

Most people know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but it can also cause many other cancers and illnesses. Smoking kills your body, it burns the inside of your throat and lungs leaving you damaged and open to health problems. If you smoke, the risk of contracting mouth cancer is four times higher than for a non-smoker.

You can eat healthy food every day (fruit and vegetables) and exercise regularly, but healthy behavior means little if you continue to smoke. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.

People who have smoked 4-5 packs a day have been able to quit with hypnosis or other stop smoking aids, then you can do it to.

In other words... the very best way to stop is to find the method that works for you. Get help... now.

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Stop Smoking Side Effects - Learn How You Can Overcome What Causes Most Smokers to Continue Smoking

Stop Smoking Side Effects

If you are wondering what the side effects of quitting smoking are, then you are afraid to stop smoking. What we need to do though is look at smoking in the opposite light. We need to ask ourselves why is it that non smokers do not have these side effects which you have?

The main reason you are afraid is that the cigarette causes them! Non smokers never have to go through what smokers go through! The good news is that when you put out your cigarette whether that be, because you are quitting or because you need to go back to work with out the constant need to smoke, the nicotine leaves your body super fast.

There is no trace of nicotine in your body within 48 hrs after having a cigarette! If you don't believe me and you still think nicotine is so strong, then why is it that a smoker needs to smoke about forty or so cigarettes per day? The main reason is that nicotine levels start to fall all the time, whether you are inhaling or putting the cigarette out as a smoker nicotine is always leaving your body.

The main reason for this (and it's quite simple when you think of it in this way) is that your body was never meant to be poisoned through nicotine. This is what is happening, your body is trying its best to get rid of the nicotine in your body as fast as it can, this is why you need to smoke on average (provided you have been smoking for more than three years) twenty cigarettes per day.

The body is a filter and its main job is to expel any substance which is not meant to be put into the system. Your body with the combination of nicotine make this a never ending story. Your body being strong, so strong that it expels the nicotine out within a few seconds and the combination of nicotine being a poison make smoking a serious maze to conquer, unless you understand this, then your hopes of trying to quit smoking will always end in failure.

Quit Smoking Tips

In case you think that not all smokers smoke this amount, you are right! Not all smokers can take this amount of cigarette smoke in their lungs, some smokers can smoke a hundred a day while others cannot smoke this amount ever, the main reason being is that we are all of a different body make up, just like some people are stonger while other people are weaker.

Just like some people are stronger, others weaker but when it comes to quitting you can find it easy to quit without having any stop smoking side effects.

Trying To Quit Smoking?

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Need To Kick Your Smoking Habit Once And For All? Stop Smoking Naturally!

Tobacco use is an unfavourable vice linked to lots of dangers that include a shorter life expectancy, premature ageing and a bigger chance of getting all sorts of health problems and kinds of cancer. Many longtime tobacco users do not have an understanding of the things they can carry out to break their dependence without making use of pharmaceutical products and alternate sources of nicotine. If you're a smoker and would like to learn how to live a more healthy life, this article contains approaches that you may utilize to give up smoking naturally.

Physical activity is an established technique that lots of folks utilise to help them get over any dependency. Working out at least 3 times weekly will help you give up smoking cigarettes in a number of ways. First of all, exercise works as a distraction; whenever your thoughts are centered on a specific endeavor, you wouldn't feel the strong nicotine hankerings that make countless folks relapse and puff on a cigarette stick. Additionally, whenever you work out, you will get an endorphin rush that will make you feel better about yourself in an organic manner. These endorphins will also allow you to feel happier and more satisfied. The other benefits of habitual physical exercise for smoking cessation are as follows: it would help you stay in shape, give you more confidence and motivate you to make healthy lifestyle adjustments.

The most vital change that you must apply if you aspire to give up smoking cigarettes naturally is to shift your behavioral inclinations and patterns, particularly when you feel nicotine hankerings. You should find more favorable and also more healthy substitutes for cigarettes. For instance, if you have nicotine cravings three times each day, you should do other things rather than give in to them, such as taking a walk or reading a novel. Eventually, your mind will adapt to these favourable changes and accept them. Consequently, your cravings would become less frequent.

Establishing new routines will also help you stop smoking naturally. Plenty of nicotine junkies find that they could rid themselves of certain behaviors that they don't want to possess by following new patterns and sticking to them. It's advisable to jot down all of the aspects and conditions that cause you to be anxious as well as push you to get a cigarette, and think about the behaviors and routines that you will substitute them with. By being aware of the undesirable elements and circumstances, you will be able to create a great plan and be ready for any probability.

Itineraries aren't exclusively for work-related issues; they would also help you in your mission to give up smoking cigarettes the natural way! Setting exact times for eating, relaxation, exercise, work and other activities will help your brain adjust to a new lifestyle, and it'll eventually become second nature. If cigarettes are not included in your brand-new routine, you will not get to think of cigarette smoking.

Behavioral changes and healthy distractions are not going to generate the results you want if you keep things that make you remember your awful smoking habit! If you want to stop smoking cigarettes the natural way, you must get rid of all of the things that make you itch to smoke. Throw away your matches, lighters, cigarette holders and ashtrays right away! Additionally, you must refrain from hanging out with relatives, close friends and colleagues who smoke cigarettes, at least until you're positive that you will not relapse when you are in their company. If you cannot avoid them completely, you may ask them to stop smoking when they are around you.

But occasionally, there are people who backslide and begin smoking cigarettes again regardless of all the preparations they've done. Trying to stop using tobacco also means that you ought to accept the odds of a relapse and be able to go past it and go back to square one if it happens. It is completely normal for nicotine junkies to go through a few relapses; keep in mind that falling short shouldn't deter you and make you feel helpless. Quitting smoking is a long and challenging endeavour that you may do over and over until you overcome your dependence for good.

Time, work and also perseverance are required if you decide to stop smoking cigarettes naturally. Each day, countless people choose to stop using tobacco for good, and many of them have already accomplished their goal. Don't focus on the probability that you will backslide; instead, don't forget that you must achieve this goal for yourself and your loved ones. Accept your errors, move forward and keep trying to give up smoking the natural way until you eventually become successful!

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Negative Thoughts and Your Smoking

Negative thinking can be a very powerful force. It has waged wars, caused constant human struggle, and kept many people from becoming the real people they wanted to be.

If you have a negative mindset, you are struggling with more than your constant internal dialogue that makes you always see the worst side to events. You are always expecting the worst from people, things and new initiatives.

It will be next to impossible for you to change or adapt to any new lifestyle in this frame of mind. For this reason, you must decide now if you can evolve from a negative thinker to a positive one, and have a reason to do so.

What is the reason you want to quit smoking? Chances are, you have health concerns, and you are seeing that the future will be very dim if you continue the habit. You are seeing the negative effects of the habit, and despite your addiction needs, you are finding that there will be a positive result from doing so.

This is your opening to a positive new way of thinking! Just this one simple step, a positive change, is going to be your best motivational tool to evolving into a more positive thinker.

It is a brave thing to motivate yourself toward a positive mindset. You will have more excuses to continue your path towards being an ex-smoker, without any baggage. You cannot make any excuses with a positive mind! It is simply impossible.

You have a great tool to keep all of your past blocks from stopping you. It will be a great way to bring yourself into a new life, and will be powerful for you. Don't let any old negativity stop you from this change.

Stop, and patiently move yourself forward into a way of thinking, that always sees the good in any event. You can either be positive about people around you or negative. You can choose! It is a great way to effect how you see results in your thinking, and will bring you into a peaceful and calm alliance with most people as well. Good things come to those who positively charge their environments forward to a great and powerful move in any decision or event.

You can effect how you see yourself in this manner, and if you consistently see yourself as an ex-smoker, you will become just that. A negative mind set will constantly come up with excuses and reasons why this will not work for you. If you want to move forward, keep yourself positive on the outcome-it is the only way you will make it happen.

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Nicotine Withdrawal - How Long Does It Last?

If you're considering quitting smoking, you've likely asked yourself 'how long does nicotine withdrawal last?' The length of time one experiences nicotine withdrawal varies with each individual. Also, each symptom of nicotine withdrawal, whether it is physical or psychological, has a different length and severity in which the person will experience the withdrawal.

Physical symptoms such as fever, sweating, aches and pains can last up to 12 weeks, but will typically peak 48 hours after the smoker has refrained from smoking. Out of all the physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, these are the most uncomfortable and are usually the reason why smokers decide not to quit. Other symptoms such as sore throat, coughing and shortness of breath are widely common and may last up to 4 weeks. The reason for this is that, while smoking, mucus and tar builds up in the smokers lungs. The body's natural reflex to expel the build up in the lungs is to cough, however excessive coughing most likely leads to sore throat and can also irritate the airways making them become inflamed and cause shortness of breath. For these physical symptoms to completely disappear, it will sometimes take the smoker 6 months of being smoke-free.

Emotional and psychological symptoms carry their own level of discomfort. Along with the physical symptoms, someone who has recently quit smoking may experience depression, anxiety, and irritability. These symptoms of nicotine withdrawal most likely stem from the psychological connection made while the smoker indulged in their habit. Most people who smoke will do so relieve the feelings of depression and anxiety. While smoking may temporarily relieve these negative feelings, the underlying cause of their depression and anxiety remained. When the option to smoke for relief is no longer available, these feelings surface and, if not dealt with properly, may cause irritability. The length in which these symptoms last can be indefinite, as the source of the problem has not been identified and/or treated.

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