Each carton or pack of cigarettes carries with it a solid chance for cancer &-&- and, to the chagrin of chain smokers, a tax. Still, consumers are entitled to buy the things that warning labels say might kill them.
In the past year, a slew of studies from a number of sources have uncovered the addictive nature behind the practice of tanning. More alarmingly, scientists have discovered the practice can be as harmful to the human body as arsenic. And, as has been the case for awhile, melanoma is an enduring buzzword in each conversation surrounding use of artificial ultraviolet light. Still, like those who can lawfully buy cigarettes that can harm them, autonomous tanners are entitled to bronzer skin, and without a tax.
But not for much longer. A stipulation attached to the new federal health care bill affixes a 10 percent tax on tanning sessions, the money from which will go toward subsidizing the overhaul. Predictably, salon owners and the orange- and beet red-complexioned are crying foul, but the added cost is necessary to render new health care initiatives effective at all.
If a practice that harms its consumers is not addressed as what it is &-&- potentially lethal &-&- then aims to create a healthier nation are counterproductive and useless. The nearly $1 trillion initiative will do nothing for the nation if harmful practices are not reformed concordantly with the law that will keep citizens insured. Ideally, the health care bill will serve to inspire citizens to kick addictive and harmful habits, as federally guaranteed coverage should not be seen as a support net for someone who consciously welcomes cancer or terminal illness. And the bill should not serve as aid to addicts who believe they are entitled to care when their addictions get the better of them and everything else falls apart.
The tanning tax means more than reformation of a harmful practice &-&- it is symbolic of the need for Americans to practice healthier habits in light of the new entitlement they have to this country’s resources. Health care should not be taken for granted, and it should not be abused.
People who knowingly harm themselves may continue to do so, but an attached tax is not unreasonable. If the country believes in the health care bill’s passing, it must take the steps to detach itself from the idea that a darker complexion is worth illness or death. Medical care is not a fallback, and that point needs to be driven home &-&- even if some ears don’t want to listen.
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