Charlie Crist isn't joking about a tax on smoking.
The Florida Governor said he thinks a big tax on cigs in the Sunshine State will help kill the urge for puffers to light up.
On Tuesday he said a tax hike of $1 per pack will become a law, and that's it's for our own good.
"The cigarette tax is appropriate and I really view it more as a health issue than I do as a tax issue," Crist told the Miami Herald.
Though the tax increase will break the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" Crist signed recently, it is expected to raise $900 million a year for the state.
Crist even went so far as to evoke an adage from old Dutch himself, Ronald Reagan.
"Reagan said when you want to kill something you ought to tax it. Well, it wouldn't be bad if you killed smoking," Crist said. "There are about 2 million Floridians, maybe a few less, who smoke. And it's not good for you."
