Tax proposal's real aim isn't to stop smoking

To the editor:

For years, the government wanted to raise taxes on tobacco to allegedly encourage smokers to quit. Missouri now wants a new tax, anticipating $342 million a year in income and planning new programs to spend that money.

Think about this: If all the smokers quit because they can't afford cigarettes, guess who is going to be paying for programs that, once instituted, will never be eliminated from the budget?

Bottom line: Obviously politicians do not want anyone to quit smoking. They just want a new tax that will only be unpopular to smokers.

MARY TOOMBS

Marble Hill, Mo.