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LETTER: Let cigarette seller clean up after and host his addicts 

I read the interesting letter, "Raise cigarette tax and see revenue go up in smoke" (April 7). The executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets suggested that if Florida raises the cigarette tax, people would quit purchasing cigarettes and Florida would lose revenue.

May I remind him that smoking is an addiction that leads to addictive behavior and negative consequences. I am happy for the smart people of New Jersey who either stopped or cut back on their smoking habit. I wonder how much New Jersey saves on health services that are caused by or exacerbated by cigarette smoking, such as treating congestive heart failure, throat cancer, lung cancer and diabetes, just to name a few. I think that the cigarette tax should be increased to $5 per pack so that smokers would have to "pay to play." In the meantime, it would be nice of the director to come to Florida with his broom to sweep up the cigarette butts and empty cigarette packages that adult non-smokers such as myself and children have to endure looking at on our beaches and streets.

Also, since the letter-writer is a smokers' advocate, it would be kind of him to open up his home to smoking addicts who have a debilitating disease and cannot support themselves as a result of smoking cigarettes.

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