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New $1 cigarette tax has Florida smokers fuming  

Florida's $1-a-pack cigarette tax kicked in Wednesday, the first such hike in two decades.

Smokers are fuming.

Diane Mulvey, of Gulf Stream, wrote the governor arguing the tax would only "cause more grief and aggravation to the household budget."

"If you believe that strongly in stopping people from smoking, then just ban it altogether," she wrote. "Taxing is about money. Banning it supports your belief that it is something that should not be happening."

At one point this spring, as legislators were passing the tobacco tax, the governor's office tallied 1,730 e-mails objecting to the idea. The American Cancer Society turned in 30,000 petitions arguing the opposite: the higher tax will lower smoking rates and save lives.

Many smokers who wrote to Gov. Charlie Crist wondered why other vices, such as alcohol or fatty foods, weren't targeted. One proposed new taxes on expensive cars, boats over 20 feet and maid services - taxes that wouldn't be "directly aimed" at the poor and middle class.

Alfred Fernandes had a typically blunt message. The Cape Coral resident said it's easy to pass such a tax when the 80 percent of Floridians who don't smoke get a "free ride."

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