That method of funding sucks, no pun intended. S-CHIP should come out of general funds. It's worthy.

I would disagree with your reasoning about quitting smoking, however. One of my reasons was the cost. I was paying child support, spousal support, house payments and upkeep at the time I quit. At $1 a pack it was $60 a month that was MINE - my former wife couldn't do anything about that.

I think anything which makes it more difficult to smoke will lead to a reduction in smoking, to the benefit of the former smoker and his family, as well as society as a whole.

I've wondered, though. In the "old days", if someone asked if you had a cigarette, it was a small thing to offer one. Or two. Does anyone even ask any more? Is it an automatic gimmee, or is there resistance? I would suspect there may be a sense of camaraderie, a common bond, a sharing of a "beleaguered us" against the "pious thems" and they'd be readily shared, but I don't know.

Arf