Why are Tobacco taxes continuously raised while Liquor taxes remain relatively steady?

A common reason for higher tobacco taxes is, "This will help prevent children from starting." Another is, "This money will pay for anti smoking education and programs." The fact is, they do neither and are excuses to fill the treasury with easy money. Alcohol is a killer also. Not very many families break up over smoking, but Alcohol is a leading cause of domestic incompatability. Nobody ever kille a family on the highway because he had too much tobacco!

I wish I had an answer for your very appropriate question.

I wish I had thought of it.

The only answer I can think of is because more politicians drink than smoke.

Is there a better reason than that?

Lack ob lobbiests..

The real reason is that there are to damned many illegals in this country and they have get the money to support them somewhere.

The tobacco tax is supposed to pay for the bill for increased insurance for children that Bush either has or will veto. My opinion is that the people in the Congress and Senate stopped smoking but still drink. Also, they tried prohibition once and it just caused a huge crime wave. If they raise the tax on alcohol too high, there will be stills popping up all over the place.

Tobacco has been the target. Once there isn't any money to extort, they will move on to alcohol

Tobacco has yet to have any proven benefits to human kind. Even its second hand smoke has proven dangerous to people and children who don't smoke. Smokers have dropped ashes on themselves in cars or beds and Killed innocent people.

Alcohol in moderation has been proven beneficial to people. Alcohol will kill the alcoholic but if the alcoholic follows the laws of the country he will not kill anyone else. Unfortunately Alcoholics make bad decisions because of the alcohol and do kill people. For the most part alcohol prices are much higher than cigarette prices(it takes 2 drinks for an average woman and 3 drinks for an average man to be over the legal limit). Beer prices that would be 5 to 8 dollars. I believe you get 20 cigarettes for 6 dollars.

Because the amount of people who drink far outweigh the amount of people who use tobacco. Right now the U.S. is on a huge anti-smoking kick and it makes people who dont smoke, but arent any healthier (most of them anyways), feel better about themselves. The U.S. government and state governments are able to make a bunch of money by attacking a minority group when they attack tobacco. Remember prohibition? Thats why they don't attack alcohol too much. They just leave it alone. If the FDA and the surgeon general really wanted to help out they would just look into making it illegal. The truth of the matter is though alot of these state governments who are upping the antes have nothing but $$$ in their eyes.