NY Gov. David Paterson

As Albany begins to nitpick what parts of the budget will be cut, Governor David Paterson is on the verge of cutting funding for a program that he has pioneered more than any other governor in the country, New York’s anti-smoking campaign.

Ever since Paterson came into office, he and New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg have gone after smokers with a vengeance, both through taxes and through advertising.

Ironically, while the Governor’s campaign has been somewhat controversial, the $10 million cut in funding will affect the widely supported state program that provides free ...continue reading]]>

NY Gov. David Paterson

As Albany begins to nitpick what parts of the budget will be cut, Governor David Paterson is on the verge of cutting funding for a program that he has pioneered more than any other governor in the country, New York’s anti-smoking campaign.

Ever since Paterson came into office, he and New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg have gone after smokers with a vengeance, both through taxes and through advertising.

Ironically, while the Governor’s campaign has been somewhat controversial, the $10 million cut in funding will affect the widely supported state program that provides free nicotine patches and helps people receiving Medicaid quit smoking.

While the cut isn’t much in comparison to the billions that will be slashed from the budget, it does weaken a favorite pet project of Paterson’s.

Over the past few years, the governor and Bloomberg have directly attacked the wallets of smokers in New York, raising pack prices in New York City to more than $10 a pop. That’s $20 a day for a heavy smoker!

While some have claimed that it was the informational campaign that has pushed people away from cigarettes, the fact that smoking rates have gone up everywhere except New York during the recession just goes to show that people haven’t quit smoking because they wanted to but because they simply couldn’t afford it anymore.

While anti-smoking activists are happy with the results, critics attack the program that is expected to push other local, state, and even federal governments to simply tax the hell out of anything that they don’t like.

Anti-Smokers Mayor Mike Bloomberg

Ever since New York City and New York state began their war on smokers people have had to pay a ridiculous tax to light up when they can even find a place where they are allowed to. Well it hasn’t ended there, smokers are now not being allowed to smoke in their own homes.

According to the New York Times, landlords are now cracking down on people smoking INSIDE THEIR OWN HOME! What was once the only place that smokers can smoke without standing in the street is now the new front of the ...continue reading]]>

Anti-Smokers Mayor Mike Bloomberg

Ever since New York City and New York state began their war on smokers people have had to pay a ridiculous tax to light up when they can even find a place where they are allowed to. Well it hasn’t ended there, smokers are now not being allowed to smoke in their own homes.

According to the New York Times, landlords are now cracking down on people smoking INSIDE THEIR OWN HOME! What was once the only place that smokers can smoke without standing in the street is now the new front of the war on smokers.

What’s more is that many landlords are even banning smoking anywhere around the building, in front of the building, and even on the same block as the building.

The news comes right before Related Companies begins a ban on smoking in their buildings located in Harlem. It also comes at a time that the city is pushing to ban smoking in parks and beaches.

This phenomenon has even militant non-smokers up in arms. If a person can no longer smoke in his own home, where is the line drawn? If a person can no longer smoke outside, where does it end?

For many in New York, this has stopped being an anti-smoking issue and has become a simple rights issue. At what point does the city stop creating new policies on what we can and can’t do? At what point can a person do what they want to do without bothering anyone else in the privacy of their own home?