what do you think about smokers getting taxed?

They are not taxed to pay for health care. They are taxed mainly because it's an easy way to get tax money in, and second, to try to encourage them to quit so that they don't need health care quite so much.

Nobody knows how much smokers cost the health service (as a direct result of smoking) as compared with the tax they pay, but I would bet that the tax take actually exceeds the cost, in which case if everybody stopped smoking we would all have to pay more taxes.

I think that this is a two edged sword. On the one hand, there will always be those who choose to smoke, and these people will pay the price. On the other hand, every time there is an added tax, more people quit, thus reducing our overall health care expense. Perhaps, we should just outlaw tobacco as we have marijuana so that the criminal element can make the money as they have with the drug trade. I believe that the tax off of marijuana alone would pay for the health care proposals being waved around these days, and there are people who could use the relief.

I think that they are higher risk for disease AT THEIR OWN WILL. They should be taxed because if the government is going to pay for health care, smokers are the ones that are going to need it. Why tax the people who have real health needs from circumstances they can't control. If you don't want to pay a tax, quit the cancer sticks.

No. As someone who just quit smoking recently I feel tobacco taxes are already way too high.