I fought the law, and the law won

I was reading the complete ballot measure 50 pamphlet for the state of Oregon, due to come out the end of this month by mail. (Election time is November 6th, Oregonians, be on your toes!)
The official scope of this measure is"AMENDS CONSTITUTION: DEDICATES FUNDS TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR CHILDREN, FUND TOBACCO PREVENTION, THROUGH INCREASED TOBACCO TAX." Read more about it at http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/nov62007/.

A few thoughts, fellow noshers:

1. Yahoo! state funding of health care for neglected portions of our society such as children should make me happy, right?
2. But, what about that little tobacco tax increase? What do I think about that?
On the one hand I say, yes, stick it to the smokers, they're just doing myself and themselves a huge disservice by continuing to smoke. Health reasons, air quality, littering, etc. On the other hand I think, well, who smokes? Lots of people, right? But if you look at statistics of a national proportion, a large percentage of smokers are poor. Poor people can't really afford cigarettes, right? They should be doing things like buying bread, and shoes, and milk. If we increase the tax, then maybe they won't buy them. Maybe. Or maybe they'll just skip the bread, the milk, the shoes for poor little Johnny's first day of school, and buy a carton of smokes for $36.50. Maybe if we kill off all the poor people, slowly, via lung disease, without educating them, without creating a means for them to rise up and help themselves, maybe if we do it slowly, no one will notice. By then we will all be living in Utopian bliss, right? No smoking and no irritating poor people taking up space.
3. Concerning what we tax-aren't there other things that we could tax that may provide a more long term benefit to the state budgetary status? I mean, if we tax tobacco, and then tobacco goes the way of the dodo by adding even more stringent anti-smoking legislation at the federal level, then where will the money come from? And isn't that a good thing-obliterating something as harmful as smoking?
4. Now I feel like I'm going round and round and not getting very far in my thoughts. I need help. I need some thing to help me see the light. I need to clear my head. I think I need a smoke.