The Tobacco Lobby and Congress ~ A working relationship

The United States has been in love with tobacco, promoted with romantic images of the rugged Marlboro Man. But the tides have turned in recent years, and anti-smoking campaigns are on the rise. New York City  banned smoking in restaurants in 2003, and other cities quickly followed.  But not everyone is happy with the anti-smoking laws, namely the tobacco industry and the political lobbyists who fight for on their behalf. But what about our government? Does Congress really want our nation to quick smoking?

Harvey M. Sapolsky's 1980 "The Political Obstacles to the Control of Cigarette Smoking in the United States" offers a peek at what the tobacco industry stands to lose if the anti-smoking campaigns are successful in educating the public and discouraging smoking outright.  Sapolsky notes the $16 billion dollars in gross revenue the cigarette manufacturing business reports annually. The government gets its "cut" of over $6 billion dollars in excise taxes on this revenue. How easily would the government be able to replace that sum if smoking were banned entirely?

The government simply can't afford to campaign against smoking. Tax increases are presented and promoted as yet another incentive for the smoking public to quit. However, if that were the case, then presumably the increased taxes levied by the feds would be directed to some anti-smoking program to help individuals quit smoking. But this is not the case. The money is added to the federal coffers for general use.  Our government has become so dependent on this income stream, it simply cannot afford to cut if off. So while the government may publicly denounce smoking, privately, they're all for it!