These idiots never look at long-term effects of taxes like that.  If more folks quit smoking, that’ll put tobacco farms out of business, thus more taxes lost on their revenues.  It’ll put their employees out of work, not only losing that taxable income, but loss of more money in their jobless benefits. 

I don’t believe in sin taxes. 

I’m with @ANVRSADDAY on the flat tax.  Every transaction is to be taxed.  When one company sells to another, sales tax.  When we buy something, sales tax.  In order to protect the lower-class, though, I believe raw food staples such as milk, flour, fruit, meat, and veggies should be tax-free (maybe only at the consumer level though, so companies like Purdue, Mott’s, etc would still pay their share of taxes)  This would also virtually eliminate the need for an IRS.  It would also force corporations to be more honest about their subsidiary companies, because it would be taxed unless they call it the same company.

The gov’t should never try to persuade us how to act.  WE should be persuading THEM!