The little people of this country (meaning working people, living paycheck to paycheck), have been pushed around by the government long enough. That the price of cigarettes is going up again is ridiculous.

The government telling people when and where people can smoke is bad enough, but passing an exorbitant tax hike, such as the last one on cigarettes, isn’t anything but legal robbery. It has to stop.

I can go along with banning smoking in restaurants, out of respect for those who do not smoke. But in outdoor arenas (for example, baseball and football games), that is totally wrong.

That drivers can be ticketed for smoking in their own car if a child under 16 is riding along, is also going too far. If the government is truly so worried about the health of those children, why don’t they put more pressure on police departments to pick up some of the 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds I see every day walking home from school while smoking cigarettes?

This state is going to lose a lot of money by raising the tax on cigarettes, which could force many people to quit smoking. What will government agencies do to make up for that loss? Raise property taxes again?

Government officials should use their power to find ways to create more jobs or bring jobs into the state, rather than raising the cigarette tax any time they want

Stop discriminating against the smokers.

Enough is enough.

Stanley Smith, Norway