Sin Tax on Beer

Beer Luvvas,

Am I a hypocrite? I'm appalled by the potential increase in the state's "Sin Tax" on beer, but I am a big supporter of taxes on cigarettes.

I don't smoke. I drink beer. I drink more beer than most people. I pay more for better beer than most people (although probably not the folks who will read this blog).

The data out there shows that cigarette smoking has a direct impact on one's health. Which is why my father-in-law recently stopped smoking cigars: he couldn't get life insurance coverage. Type I Diabetes was not a factor, smoking was. Discrimination? Maybe. Financial truth. Definitely.

I'm sure that there's data out there that shows there's a direct impact on one's health from drinking beer; but is it as severe as cigarettes? Especially with the categorizing of binge drinking as anything over 2 drinks in a sitting, I have a hard time considering the potential health impact - and the subsequent financial impact on the health care system, and our fellow tax payers - dramatic enough to consider additional taxes on the hops and barley brew in similar proportions to those on cigarettes.

Am I a hypocrite?

Prost to an open exchange of potentially differing opinions!