NightBlogger

Why not tax obesity. Obesity is more of a social fiscal medical burden than tobacco but it’s not politically correct.

…Big Apple smokers are footing the highest tobacco taxes in the nation, with the the price of packs soaring past $9 in some city convenience stores. The effect will be “the creation of a black market for a legal product,” says Robert Levy, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. He contends the tax is both regressive — since smokers tend to represent a lower-income demographic — and punitive. “The social costs of smoking are already covered by existing taxes,” he says, a calculation that includes treatment of cancer, lung disease and the vast array of other health problems directly linked to cigarettes.

“This is a money grab on the part of the state of New York,” Levy told TIME. “[It’s] really about budgetary concerns. They camouflage it in health lingo because it sells better.” More

LINDSEY TANNER, AP
Surprising research suggests that childhood cancer is most common in the Northeast, results that even caught experts off guard. But some specialists say it could just reflect differences in reporting.

The large government study is the first to find notable regional differences in pediatric cancer. Experts say it also provides important information to bolster smaller studies, confirming that cancer is rare in children, but also more common in older kids, especially among white boys.

The study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is based on data representing 90 percent of the U.S. population. It found that cancer affects about 166 out of every million children, a number that shows just how rare childhood cancers are. More