got fag?

it's the time of the year again for the 2006 budget. only two things are of interests to me, as always: the cigarette and alcohol tax increase. in summary:

• EXCISE duty for beer made from malt is RM7.40 per litre plus a further 15%. The current duty is RM6 per litre



• EXCISE duty for cigarettes, cigars, cheroots and cigarillos was increased from RM81 per kg to RM110 per kg. There is an additional 20% tax



• SALES tax for both cigarettes and liquor has been reduced to 5% from 25% and 20% respectively, the first time the Government has announced a reduction in the sales tax for both items.

so technically it means that a 20 pack of cigarette may see a price increase to RM7.00 from the current RM6.50. so are we all quitting? apperantly no, but maybe yes:

• bitch thinks she can get free drinks for free. yeah right. Another student, Penny Lee, said she regularly visited pubs with attractive girlfriends to get free drinks from men. "Why should I pay for my drinks when I know that there are many men out there who would be more than willing to buy me drinks?" she asked. When asked what if men stopped buying drinks due to the increase in liquor prices, she boldly replied: "Men will always be men, and I will never be short of admirers."


• Smoking seems to increase brain damage in alcoholics. Alcoholics who smoke appear to lose more brain mass than alcoholics who don't smoke, according to a study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. It is already well-known that the brains of long-term alcoholics atrophy and shrink, the study authors say, but the new findings are the first evidence that cigarette smoking might contribute to that atrophy, particularly in grey matter of the parietal and temporal lobes.

it's still amazing how the other sex view us men. ya think we are all that stupid ah? please. and that temporal lobes thingy - at least they use the words "seem" and "might" so its all still good.

Listening to: Outkast - Get Rich