Hawaii Tourism Japan Markets Smoking In Japan

As part of a campaign to encourage Japanese smokers to visit the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii Tourism Japan has begun marketing the phrase "Smoking With Aloha," along with 40,000 free ashtrays with a flower logo. The new plan is part of Hawaii Tourism Japan’s effort to correct the popular myth in Japan that Hawaii has a blanket no smoking rule. The tourism group says the misunderstanding has caused the number of Japanese visitor to sharply decrease. However, of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii is not happy about the new campaign. "This is not really sending a message that Hawaii is concerned about good health," said interim president Kathy Harty. "We shouldn't give the message that aloha means smoking." Source: BBC

Fastest Growing Tax Is on Tobacco

According to Tax Foundation, the taxes on tobacco have shown the fastest increase in taxes on any product since 2000. Recent Census data shows that between 2000 and 2005 the taxes on tobacco products have risen a staggering fifty five percent, as opposed to much smaller increases on other products such as alcoholic beverages, gasoline, etc. This is consistent with the recent trend of raising revenue through means that are "politically feasible." Raising taxes on tobacco is politically easy because the tax revenue benefits all taxpayers but only a minority of people must pay the tax.