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Builder of Oakland's Fox Theater Once Imprisoned For 'White Slavery'
Since many of you who smoke cigarettes -- dirty, filthy, rapey cigarettes that makes The Baby Jesus cry -- we know it's hard for you to always find a makeshift ashtray in which to trash them. Which is why most of you toss them on the street or out your car window. Now, however, Gavin Newsom, who hates smokie treats, wants the cleanup cost of picking up said butts to fall on smokers' shoulders via a new a new citywide fee. The proposal, which will go before the Board of Supervisors next month, "would add 33 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes, to offset the estimated $10.7 million the city spends annually removing discarded butts from gutters, drainpipes and sidewalks," reports the New York Times. What's more, according to Newsom, this added fee might (but probably not since addicts will find a way to get their fix) help smokers kick the habit. "In general, fees help reduce the consumption and use of tobacco ... and we think that will have a very beneficial public health component.” [via Curbed]
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" dirty, filthy, rapey cigarettes that makes The Baby Jesus cry"
HILARIOUS. I never heard the word "rapey" before, but now I shall find a way to use it in my daily conversations.
:-)
i usually make sure my butts find a home, but now if someone asks I'll just point out that I'm paying for it anyway.
I would be interested in seeing how they arrived at that number.
Let's see if this $$ actually goes to DPW for street cleaning.
The people who pick up the discarded butts are doing it for FREE. Yes, I said free. If you go out side and see people picking up trash on the streets.its those people who are on GA/PAYES.
Just another ploy to get money from Tax Payers.
This city goes to great lengths so cops don't have to actually write a littering ticket while all the messes remain. How many bans, fines, taxes, permit denials, etc. center around the idea of "Oh, it leaves behind such a mess!" when we ALREADY have littering codes on the books? We could enforce those and then everyone could go about their business. Other cities seem to do just fine with having cops ticket litterers. Why can't we do it here?
Seriously. There are signs up all over saying DO NOT DUMP RUBBISH OR GARBAGE with nasty sounding fines.
But I have never ever EVER seen any of these filthy slobs pay for their littering, on the street or on BART/Muni/etc. In other cities there would be more accountability.
Nonetheless, a fee on smokers to pay for cleanup is fine by me, IF the money goes to cleanup and not into the SEIU Layoff Prevention Fund.
Hey, this actually makes sense to me. As related, was at Ocean Beach Sunday afternoon after Bay to Breakers and these butts were everywhere in the sand (along with hundreds and hundreds of empty bottles and cans), the saddest thing was to see the water come in and wash it all away.
33 cents per pack will turn those butts into yummy snacks for the fish!
cigarette butts don't cut your feet.
If smokers are going to be forced to pay it, regardless of their littering habits, then it does nothing to discourage the practice.
The City spends $10.7 million removing butts from gutters and sidewalks? That does seem pretty precise. How much do they spend on discarded soft drink cans? Or used condoms? Or dead bodies?
Maybe I'll save my butts instead. At the end of very month, I will dump the 500 or so on the sidewalk in front of Gavin's house. What Muni bus goes by the Gav's place?
Trick question, no Muni buses run.
They should hire Japan Tobacco to put up public service ads:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/japan_tobaccos_delightfully_dist_9553
and
http://inventorspot.com/articles/japan_tobaccos_cheerfully_chidin_10542
I read this story on the NY Times and all the pro-smoking commenters kept blathering that we should also "tax coke cans, fast food bags, etc., etc. too." However, I have NEVER seen people in this city throw down coke cans, fast food bags, etc., the way smokers casually toss their butts onto the sidewalks, streets, etc. They seem to think their non-biodegradeable filth is somehow not trash.
If the current charge of almost what, $5 per pack does not deter people from the inconsiderate behavior of blowing their stink all over random passersby, I highly doubt 33 cents will keep them from the inconsiderate behavior of throwing their garbage on the sidewalk, but I like it anyway.
My smokes currently run $6-$8 a pack.
$.33 might actually make me more behave more inconsiderately than I was before. Federal and state tobacco taxes already cost $1.88 a pack. If I'm paying $2.21 in taxes, shit, then I really will feel self-entitled to blow smoke and litter any damn place I feel like it. Cuz I ain't moving to Missouri just to save money on smokes.
Self-entitlement: Awesome, after nearly seven years, I'm finally starting to think like a San Franciscan.
$6-$8 a PACK??
why so elderly?
More like $7 and up per pack.
Whatever. This is just some Newsom stunt to make him look all innovative and cutting edge to people who live "out there." No one is fooled by this asshole. They can charge a cigarette littering tax as soon as they charge the god damned homeless a tax for dumping their god damned turds all over the god damned sidewalks. No cigarette butt ever gave innocent passersby cholera or hepatitis, for christ's sake.
In New York cigarettes are up over $10 per pack now because the city and the state has loaded tax upon tax on tobacco. Apparently it does actually make people quit. They're saying smoking is way down here and it's partially because everyone just got priced out of buying a pack of butts.
Where exactly do they get $10.7 mill from? Do they have a special butt patrol? Anyhoo, They should just jack the price up to a handy $10 so I don't have to grapple with change, dog, gin-based beverage at the gas station at 2am.
Don't you all just LOVE living in a city that just can't wait to find a way to charge you for every little thing. It's a good thing SO MANY of you make so much money to where 33 cents more on a pack of ciggies(sic) won't make that big of a deal, anyway I digress.Lookit, just give in, it's waaaay easier than fighting.
I say this as an ex smoker who misses it a lot. If 33 cents a pack is that huge of a deal for you budget-wise, that's a hell of an excuse to quit.
But yes, this is totally stupid and typical Newsom.
can you actually '(sic)' your own statement? (rhetorical)
Don't the regular street cleaning machines take care of this? Is there a special kind that makes a second pass and costs 10.7 mil?
look, gavin was obviously part of the "bully" crowd more than the "bullied." homolove aside, he has no compunction about throwing the entire cost of streetcleaning onto a minority.
Suck it, cough-ey!!!
I'll just continue to buy my cigarettes in Oakland and leave my butts in SF.
I didn't know Gavin hated smokers, I thought he just hated Walgreens.
I see far more chewing gum on the sidewalks and streets than cigarette butts.
If I am paying this clean-up fee, I will be able to dispose of my butts on public property without fear of a littering violation since the tax is a de facto littering penalty assessed on smokers preemptively thereby rendering any subsequent littering charge to be double jeopardy.
When I'm done with my smoke, I flick the cherry off, pinch the end to make sure there's nothing smoldering, then I toss the butt into the nearest can. Other than stanky fingers, not a big deal.
As for this 33 cent tax, it's stupid, but also, not a big deal. I pay damn near $7 for my packs, so what's 33 cents? Hell, I voted for that cigarette tax a couple years ago that Californians inexplicably rejected.
When you live in California, when you live in San Francisco, you just kinda get immune to things like this. You roll your eyes, you shrug your shoulders, light up another smoke and puff on.
I would soooo pay a $5 tax if they'd just let bars or restaurants have smoking sections. Walled off, ventilated, with workers who know what they're getting themselves into. With ashtrays, of course, so we don't, you know--litter.
Dude, there *are* bars that have smoking sections. Hemlock has a smoking room, and Whiskey Thieves is entirely a smoking bar.
I know there's others...
Yeah, I know. But it'd just be nice if there were more than five, ya dig? I havnen't been to Whiskey in a few months, but last time I was there, the smoking took place outside. Don't know why.
Something about a smoke filled room, cigarette in one hand, coffee or beer in the other, you know? No? Ah, well.
Amber on 14th is another.
Ok, how sad is it that the reference for this article had to come from the NYT? (Of course, I've been out of town for 3 weeks, so do we even have a local paper anymore?)
I always thought it would have been a good idea to mandate and/or make a law that restaraunts and bars and other places where smokers have to go outside to smoke must have an outside ashtray.
There are too many bars in the city that do not have ashtrays and it forces the smokers to toss their butts on the ground. I don't know of a single smoker that would rather keep their butts in their pocket until they find a suitable trash can/ash tray.
I'm with A_Native_Son in putting out the cherry and waiting until I can find a trash can. Its not ideal, but it does the trick.
By your own admission, no one is FORCED to throw their garbage on the street.