Let Them Eat Cake (But I'd Tax The Hell Out of It First)

Anyone that smokes cigarettes or cigars or drinks alcohol in any form knows that there are exorbitant taxes placed on these items. And being a user of both cigarettes and alcohol, I can understand why.

Firstly, they are a luxury. You don't NEED either one. Sure, they're nice to have and if you want to partake in those items, then the government is going to make you pay for the privilege. Then there are the health risks involved in using both tobacco and alcohol. Tobacco is highly addictive and everyone knows that it's one of the hardest addictions to beat. Some compare it to quitting heroin. It can cause lung cancer. Second hand smoke was an issue but not so much anymore as it's illegal to smoke anywhere but outside now a days, other than your own home. I could probably count on one hand the number of homes that I go to that allow smoking inside.

Alcohol causes all sorts of social issues like drunk driving and broken homes. Then there are the health risks involved. Anyone kill a few brain cells recently? How's your liver doing? Ever missed work due to a horrible hangover?

But what no one seems to find odd in this country is why certain foods aren't taxed. I find it strange that fast foods or snacks like potato chips, doughnuts, cookies, chip dip, chocolate bars, even pop, don't also have a special, exorbitant tax.

While everyone sits there and stares down there nose at the smokers (I know they do because I am a smoker), no one thinks it's strange that you can go to Metro or The Superstore and buy a huge box of chocolate chip cookies and not pay tax on it. Or go to Tim Hortons and because you buy more than three doughnuts, you get away without paying tax.

A few years ago, while waiting at the doctors for an appointment, I read an article about the largest drain on the Canadian health care system. Any guess what health problem was the culprit? Drug addiction? Alcoholism? Nope. Must be smoking, you're probably thinking? I thought for sure, that would be it. I remember a friend of mine once commenting that if smokers wound up with lung cancer, they should be forced to pay for their treatment out of their own pockets. After all, whose fault was it they got lung cancer? But no, it wasn't smoking either. In this article, they had interviewed Canadian doctors across the country. And they all agreed that obesity was the largest drain on our health care system. They cited case after case of why obesity cost so much. It caused so many health issues, from joint problems, circulatory issues, heart issues, lung issues, the list goes on.

So I suggest to loser McGuinty, start taxing the hell out of the McDonalds, the Harveys, the KFC. That's not a necessity. Use that tax to help cover the cost of fixing the people that need heart by-pass surgery, new hips and knees, need special care after heart attacks.....I know, it's not OUR fault but still....if we have to pay to smoke and drink.....lets be fair.