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It's probably because they are so cheap and the states don't have good regulations against smoking.
Here in California (2nd least amount of smokers in the US) the prices are very expensive and the state has so many taxes on them. Also California has pretty strict regulations as to where you can smoke. Smoking is not allowed at resturants or bars. If you want to smoke you have to do it outside away from entrances.
We don't smoke cigs in California, we stick to pot.
There's no smoking in restaurants or even bars & clubs here in TN (unless they're 21 & up.) I was very suprised when I went up to St. Louis and people were smoking in a restaurant. I can't even remember the last time I had seen that in TN.
Oh well I was actually talking about the cost of cigarettes in the Southern states--they are in general much cheaper than up North--like her in WA or in NY. I don't smoke anymore, but when I moved to Seattle in 98, I was able to buy a carton of Camels for $12 (of course gas was 99 cents a gallon too!). I had massive sticker shock even then when I arrived in Seattle 2 weeks later and find individual packs were $5-6 each. I've read from the NY boards that packs of cigarettes there are around $12. We can't AFFORD to have a smoking habit up here!
parts of the south have powerful tobacco lobbies, and they want pro-tobacco legislation, like low taxes on tobacco, or allowing smoking in restaurants and bars. that makes up the majority of the price difference between states.
Plus, we just have a long tradition of smoking tobacco in the south because it is a local agricultural product.
There's no smoking in restaurants or even bars & clubs here in TN (unless they're 21 & up.) I was very suprised when I went up to St. Louis and people were smoking in a restaurant. I can't even remember the last time I had seen that in TN.
Missouri at a statewide level tends to be very lax in terms of tobacco legislation and taxes. It might be tied here to the fact that alcohol is similar in nature with having less regulations relating to it than about every other state. I am not sure if it is the political culture that leads to it or if powerful interests prevents many restrictions from happening.
I quit cigarettes a while ago. It was easy once I switched to American Spirits, 'cause they don't have any additives. Switching from Camels to Spirits was harder than actually quitting tobacco altogether!
Maybe I should try that. I can't go cold turkey. I've tried 5 times and failed every time. I don't like the way a nicotine patch makes me feel.
About smoking rates in the south...I would say price is the biggest reason. There really isn't a profile for who smokes or who doesn't. You can't say all smokers are poor, or minority, or uneducated. Its a very easy habit to pick up but its one of the most difficult habits to break.
Why does it concern anyone but the person in question?
Of course people from the Northeast and West Coast would love nothing more than to have more control and legislate their preferences and morality to folks in the South. Get lost.
I'm a smoker, I have no plans to quit, and it concerns no one but myself. People need to mind their own business as we are becoming a nation of infantile freaks.
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