It's time for a "Reckless Homicide Tax" [updated]

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In addition to empowering the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products, now let's levy a Reckless Homicide Tax on Big Tobacco. It's sole purpose would be to completely reimburse the Medicare and Medicaid programs for every single public health dollar spent to treat smoking-related diseases. The revenues from this tax would shrink the Medicaid funding crisis down to a size where we can drown it in the bathtub.

Update: it also appears that we may need to levy a Health Insurance Mafia Tax (to steal a term from Bob Cesca): a 100% tax on all proceeds, whether gains or the value of "paper losses" used for corporate tax breaks, by health insurers who invest in tobacco company stock. I'd also suggest that the Justice Department take a close look at all the tricky little words in the language of the RICO Act for possible future reference, just in case.