Tobacco tax could be raised to 'levels in Europe': health minister

Sunday 01st November, 11:12 AM JST

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tmarie at 11:23 PM JST - 1st November

Health care costs would go down - win/win for everyone!
bluecactii at 11:23 PM JST - 1st November

How does the health minister know how much a pack of cigarettes should cost?
realist at 11:38 PM JST - 1st November

I love the new Japanese Government! I hope they increase the taxes on cancer weeds to European levels and I also hope they ban smoking in all restaurants and bars and clubs and public places, too.
lunchmeat at 11:42 PM JST - 1st November

‘‘Tobacco poses health problems. It may be necessary to raise it (the tobacco tax) to the levels in Europe,’’

Yet another government scam. Cigarettes, not "tobacco," only kill old smokers.
DXXJP at 06:14 AM JST - 2nd November

Wow maybe they should add about 200 or more to a can of beer. Im not a drinker but drunk drivers kill how many, or that they also have health issues, or even the burden passed on to ME a non smoker in my auto insurance.

Hmmm I guess because I smoke Im the evil of the two.

PS I can wait till I get outside for a smoke, I dont smoke in my house, and Im conscious of my surroundings when I smoke.
DeepAir65 at 06:52 AM JST - 2nd November

go for it! illness aside it's just plain antisocial

I remember years ago when it was around GBP2 a packet the gov did a survey and found they could put it up to GBP10 before reducing the income from tax.

tax them to the hilt I say :-)
as_the_crow_flies at 01:55 PM JST - 2nd November

Smoking helps people die sooner so they are less of a financial burden on the health care system. It makes sense to encourage more people to smoke, because it saves us money.

I wish it were true, but I think smokers tend to die slow, messy, wheezing-and-hacking, resource-hungry, ugly deaths (think emphysema, COPD, lung cancer, gradual paralysis from a succession of strokes, multiple treatments for heart disease over a period of years. I definitely think the tax should go up more per packet, but with a notice on each pack (Notice: "50% of the cost of this pack is an investment in your future tobacco-related healthcare"). Informed choice. Otherwise it just looks like the government is trying to make money out of people's misery. If taxing is really aimed at helping smokers give up, or deterring future smokers, and not at getting the finger in the pie, get the message out on the pack.
Patrick Smash at 03:39 PM JST - 2nd November
The real burdens on the welfare systems are as follows:
1. People being hospitalized for the last 2 years of their life, and they are not necessarily smokers.
2. People with colds.
3. Pensions, especially all the free ones handed out to the wives of salarymen who have never paid in, and live to be 90.
Smokers should be taxed more highly, but they already pay plenty of extra tax into the system. Smokers tend to drink too, so there is plenty of additional alcohol tax as well. Around 500-yen a pack with immediate effect would be a good thing, but if smokers quit on mass the government will not increase revenue, which is the reason stated. If it's to encourage people to give up on health grounds, that is a different issue.
DXXJP at 03:49 PM JST - 2nd November

Can someone show me where smokers can receive or apply for this extended free healthcare thats supposedly paid for by the tax levied on them. I might need this in the next 20 or 30 years and I want to get the paper work finished so I dont have to wait in line.
Yelnats at 03:50 PM JST - 2nd November

I say increase it enough to off set taxes so children and spousal tax write offs are not eliminated.
Altria at 03:52 PM JST - 2nd November

This tax is an outrageous breach of peoples' freedom to enjoy a refreshing cigarette after a hard day of work.

Altria will be lobbying the government to squash this bill.
Delarapier at 01:55 PM JST - 5th November

Japan could/should legalize weed instead it and then tax it.
riverwalk at 12:45 AM JST - 13th November

Government should raise tobacco tax. I smoke, but I think that tobacco is useless and other people who don't smoke injure their health.
But tobacco farmers and related industries will opposite a sudden change that tobacco tax will be raised. So government should raise tobacco tax as slow as it can .
yuki0426 at 04:37 PM JST - 19th November

There are many people who opposit this problem, but I agree this idea because it is said that the people who smoke tend to die more earlier than the people who don't smoke. And there are many bad points of tobacco like trash are increasing because of throwing away tobaccos, and fires happen, junior high school students can buy it easily because it is cheap. So Ithink that government should raise tha tobacco tax.
zMeina at 04:38 PM JST - 19th November

I think the tax increase is good. i hate secondary tobacco smoke. smoke tabacco is personal choice,but smokers shuldn't give nonsmokers a hard.