Don't Mess With Taxes

Hey, smokers. How's it going for you on Great American Smokeout day?

This annual American Cancer Society event occurs the third Thursday of November. It was created as a way to encourage smokers to kick the habit for good.

It's a good idea, but I'm not sure it really works. I think folks need a more personal reason to permanently snuff out their smokes.

I gave up the nasty habit as a birthday gift to the hubby. A friend quit smoking after his doctor warned him he probably wouldn't be around to see his grandkids if he kept inhaling.

And President Barack Obama quit smoking when his signature health care law passed.

Did President Obama really quit smoking? That's what many asked when they noticed something suspicious in his hands in this photo.

In an interview with GQ magazine, the current Commander in Chief was asked the number of cigarettes he's smoked in the White House since taking office.

"Zero in the last five years," Obama said. "I made a promise that once health care passed, I would never have a cigarette again. And I have not."

For the record, the Affordable Care Act, more popularly known as Obamacare, was passed back in 2010.

Or did he quit? There was speculation that he had relapsed this June while at the G7 summit in Germany.

Obama was photographed standing on a balcony with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. As soon as the snapshot was posted on Instagram, people started asking whether that was a pack of cigarettes in Obama's hands.

The White House denied that the prez was lighting up again. His personal physician backed up that assertion.

Medical, and tax, help to stop: If you don't have a personal reason, other than living longer, to get you to stops smoking, you can always get professional help. Uncle Sam will even help.

Smoking cessation programs qualify as deductible medical expenses. If that no-smoking treatment and your other eligible medical and dental expenses are more than 10 percent of your adjusted gross income, you can write them off as itemized expenses on Schedule A.

If you're looking for a few more health-care costs to count to clear that deduction hurdle, there are many more medical costs that might make you feel better at tax filing time.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Sin taxes don't pay off
• Arizona smokers get tax bills for old online purchases of cigarettes
• Alabama's proposed cigarette tax hike + 'Mad Men' and Americans' changing view on smoking