Alco-Pops Tax and Cigarette Packaging
Two things that I really like about the Australian Prime Minister – his stance on higher taxes for alco-pops (that’s alcoholic cordials marketed at youth) and cigarettes. Yes increase the alco-pops tax and put the bastards out of business because they’re promoting the binge drinking problem. And cigarettes, well the writing’s on the wall guys…
The cigarette issue shits me no end – how dare Phillip Morris and other cigarette companies threaten the Australian Government with court action if we decide as a nation that cigarettes should be in blank packets. Those packets – the branding – are solely there to promote cigarettes, THEIR CIGARETTES, as clean, pure and a lifestyle enhancer. The reality of cigarette smoking is bad breath, yellow teeth, cancer, emphysemia, gangarene – DEATH. If we, as a nation, move to ban a company from killing our citizens then why is it a court action about branding?
Do any of us still remember the pseudo science these guys were coming out with only a couple of decades ago – knowing full well what the real science of this product was all along?! These corporations operate in an unethical environment – they do not deserve our support.
The true cost to Australia of the product that cigarette companies flog – particularly targeting youth with an image of cool – is immense. How many people clog up our hospitals? Palliative care? What is the economic cost of losing people that could otherwise have produced economic benefit for us, but instead died on the end of an oxygen tube?
The insane part of that whole discussion is that any of this should be about the rights of the cigarette companies. Guys, it’s time to find another industry – REINVEST IN ELECTRIC CARS, for fuck sake. Got that, Tonto?
As for alco-pops – it’s a bit harder to get that wrecked that quickly on whiskey and beer. OK you can do it, but when a drink just tastes like non-alcoholic cordial then you can really tank it down. Here’s a story: what really turned me against alco-pops was discussing the binge drinking issue with a family friend of 21 years old. It is NOT UNCOMMON for them to have had friends crash after a party and shit the bed, or just shit themselves.
In my binge drinking youth that was uncommon. Only total smeg-head middle aged drunks shit themselves, not youth straight off their pushbikes.
OK there’s my short rant for the day. Higher taxes on alco-pops please Mr Rudd, and give us some higher taxes on cigarettes and make them sell the bastards without advertising and branding. Let them PROVE their price inelasticity – if it’s true then they’ll sell just as many and we’ll all get some more sleep.
[End of Rant... 9.19am Eastern Standard Time]
