smokes!

Attorneys general from 40 states have asked the U.S. Treasury Department to extend cigarette-marketing rules to "little cigars," according to the Washington Post (among others).

The cigars in question look very similar to cigarettes, and the AGs say that's not a coincidence, that the smoke makers are trying to get around marketing - and taxation - rules to produce something appealing and cheap for the younger set.

Lost in the clatter of clang of anti-smoking crusaders and state officials are a couple of simple points:

a) Cigars (and for that matter, roll-your-own smokes) are still treated differently from cigarettes, which is why this loophole even exists. Want to close the loophole? Enact a unified tobacco tax. Wow, that was complicated.

b) The states need the dough more than they give a shit about smokers. There's no need to lie, either. In New Hampshire, state liquor stores are everywhere and use very low prices (i.e. very low taxes) to do a booming trade in booze, especially along Interstate 95. I'm not suggesting that the states hand out free smokes to hook youngsters, but the least they could do is quit faking like they don't need the cash.