Tax-Crazed France Throws a Nicotine Fit
You almost have to feel sorry for the infamously rude smokers of
France. Fed up with yet another tax increase, tobacco shops protested today by
closing, and the heavily addicted frogs are going nuts.
Ninety percent of the country's 34,000 vendors joined the unprecedented "day
of mourning" for what they declared a dying trade.
"Your tobacco vendor is fighting for survival," read a notice taped outside
several Paris smoke shops.
"Just great!" wailed Hakim Hachouche, a dancer frantically searching for
tobacco on his way to rehearsal. "I can't have a cigarette even if I want to pay
more for it."
The average price for a pack jumped from $4.60 to $5.40 and will soar to
$6.30 in early 2004.
Selfish Frenchies continue to violate the ban on smoking in hospitals,
airports and other public places, but the gendarmes are finally cracking down.
Twenty million frogs smoke, more than a third of the population, and half of
those ages 15-24 are addicted.
So, how come the French government waited so long to attack the health
problem? The answer is greed. The government used to own the lucrative tobacco
industry. Now that it's private enterprise, time to confiscate as much money as
possible and put it out of business!
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