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Well, let's look at it another way. What if the government were to offer to collect no income tax for the year in exchange for doing some one-time dangerous activity - like cleaning up a toxic spill?
The motivation is structured so that it's people who are desperate that will take advantage of it. It's taking advantage of their situation to get something done that would otherwise cost much more.
I'd say that was a pretty predatory action.
I don't really see that it's any different to take advantage of the fact that someone's got a nicotine addiction and is willing to part with a fair amount of money to satisfy it.
The analogy you made with the speeding fine is a bad one. Speeding is illegal. Smoking is not.
Furthermore, I do consider it predatory for a rural police force to set up speed traps specifically to collect fines from tourists who are likely to find it more convenient to pay the fine than to contest it in a remote jurisdiction. It's a very similar situation to the one you mentioned, but it's a better analogy, because the victims (drivers) are not actually breaking a law (or at least, their actual circumstances are such that the justice system would likely have forgiven them).
Smokers are an easy target for this kind of predation. Many of them, today, wish they didn't smoke, but think they're unable to quit. Whether that's true or not is immaterial. Because the anti-smoking lobbies have been so successful in demonizing smokers and tobacco companies, it's easy to convince people that we should take advantage of these "bad" people in our midst. I think it's immoral.
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RE: Taxing smokers is unjust and ludacris
Their job is to represent the people of their district.
This is a little tangential, but I slightly disagree. I think they're elected to do what they think is right. I mean, it's not as if the representative process is in place just to keep from having to do a mass vote to decide every issue...
hows that the representative is perfectly willing to prey on the weaknesses of his constituency ... take advantage of their ignorance or addiction to increase revenues
I see what you're saying, but I'm not willing to buy into the ignorance/addiction excuse. If I get pulled over for speeding, I get fined - even if I'm not aware of the speed limit and if I'm racing to the store to buy some smokes. Is the law, then, unjust and are those who passed the law "taking advantage of me" to increase revenues? No. It's a law designed to keep the streets safer, and the fine is a penalty. Taxes on cigarettes are penalties for those who participate in something that makes society sicker and dirtier.
Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not saying I'm "pro" this sort of tax; I just don't think the "immoral" angle makes any sense.
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