Smoking, is it all that bad for the society?

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention smokers cost the country $96 billion a year in direct health care costs, and an additional $97 billion a year in lost productivity. However lawmakers don’t look at figures for non-smokers, they tend to live longer thus increasing overall health care cost in the long run. Personally, I think smoking is a nasty habit, as an ex-smoker, I still believe it should be a personal choice not one mandated by the government. Another issue not being addressed is the taxes earned on tobacco products. If the government would completely eliminate smoking, we would loose a lot of additional funding generated from tobacco and alcohol. Add that and the longevity of non smokers in the society, and our health care costs are going to sky rocket. Left with no income from tobacco taxes, we would find ourselves in deep financial trouble. So maybe, instead of completely eliminating smoking we should limit it and tax those who choose to smoke. Through earned taxes this group of individuals could contribute to the national healthcare fund. Smokers can look at it as an extra insurance policy they’ve purchased through out their smoking years. What do you think?