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THE RELEVANCY OF “SIN TAXES”

“Sin Taxes”
Alcohol, tobacco, and high caloretic foods are easy to find in our daily lives but contain hazards to the human body, not just short term hazards but also long term. The use of these products can lead to slowing blood flow, clogged arteries, low states of energy, and other life changing health issues. Products that are seen as being harmful to the human body have been commonly referred to as “sinful”. In order to regulate and lessen the long term effects due to the intake of dangerous substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and unhealthy foods the government has resorted to increased fees on these items dubbed “sin taxes”. The United States Government wants to impose new regulations and taxes on products that are considered by most “sinful”. While some measures to eliminate the consumption of high content calorie soft drinks have come under fire as of late, other products have been in the spotlight for many generations. Research has shown that the use of some products, such as tobacco and alcohol, have lifelong negative effects on the human body and bystanders alike. Tobacco use has had a progressive rise in the past few decades due to marketing and the widened use in movies and other broadcasted programs seen by many people. In turn consumers assume the use of tobacco is a “cool” thing to do and find themselves soon addicted to these products. Unfortunately users disregard the statistical facts that the short and long term effects of tobacco use not only hurt the human body but those around the user. Smoking is responsible for several diseases, such as cancer, long-term (chronic) respiratory diseases, and heart disease, as well as premature death. Over 440,000 people in the USA and 100,000 in the UK die because of smoking each year. According the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), $92 billion

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