Put more tax on cigarettes and alcohol

THE EDITOR: I and I daresay, a considerable number of citizens would have welcomed an increase in tax in this year’s budget in cigarettes and alcohol given the debilitating and detrimental effects these products have on one’s health.

What must also be considered is the fact that the treatment of lung cancer is very expensive and the facilities available leave much to be desired. Alcoholism is a destructive disease that causes much suffering to not only the patient but to the concerned family. The question of road safety is another aspect which can be a direct link to drinking and the dire consequences that may occur driving under the influence of liquor. Perhaps the income derived from effecting such a measure of increased taxes may not have generated the monetary gains as that which can be obtained by other forms of increased taxes, but the message as far as a social responsibility would have been clear. To those who indulge, quit these expensive habits now. Also heavy taxes on these products may be a deterrent to consumers. It is often necessary to be cruel to be kind in the long run.

FIDEL GONZALEZ
St Joseph