So Gov. Jennifer Granholm thinks raising taxes on cigarettes will help raise money to offset the state deficit and deter tobacco smoking? While I'm all for both outcomes, despite being myself a smoker, a $2 tax on each pack of cigarettes is outrageous.

While nobody would dispute the dangers of smoking and the added strain this puts on taxpayers, perhaps Granholm should try to level off the field and levy taxes instead on other dangerous pastimes.

Beer, for example, carries only a 20-cent tax per gallon. Compare the slightly-over 20 cents for a 12-pack of beer to the already cockamamie $1.25 levied on a pack of cigarettes. Yes, smoking might be the number one killer in America, but alcohol is holding strong at number two.

Besides, hiding behind the guise of promoting "good health' is hard to do when obesity is on a steady incline. Perhaps levying a tax on junk food sounds absurd to most, but would it not help offset the deficit? And, more importantly, if Granholm's logic is correct, would it not promote healthy living?

Maybe I should just get used to paying higher prices for my cigarettes. In a world full of dangerous vices, I obviously picked the wrong one.

Adam Dreuth
English sophomore