Stiff Tobacco Tax May Get Colorado Teenagers to Quit Smoking
http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=ABBAE3:2F72C9DQuitting smoking is tough, but a tripled tax may make it more of a
necessity
Many people make New Year's resolutions: to lose weight…to
exercise…and, among smokers, to quit their tobacco habit. In Colorado,
smokers now have an extra reason to stop, thanks to a ballot
initiative passed in November that tripled the state's cigarette tax,
effective New Year's Day. With this tax increase, Colorado joined two
other states that passed similar measures this past fall, and it
raises to 38 the number of states that have increased tobacco taxes
since 2001.
'Cancer Hill' at Fairview High School in ColoradoHealth experts say
these tax hikes do decrease smoking, especially among teenagers. A
visit to Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado, finds a dozen
teens lighting up cigarettes during their lunch break. The students
are not allowed to smoke on school grounds. So they gather just beyond
the parking lot on a grassy knoll they have given a ghoulish name.
"This is Cancer Hill, where we develop our cancer in between classes
and on our off periods," says one boy. "We come here to get cancer,"
another says with a laugh.
Some of these young people smoke quite a few cigarettes every day. "10
to 20?" guesses one boy. A girl nearby says she smokes half a pack.
"Smoking's so bad for you…it's so addictive," she admits. "But it's so
good at the same time. I'm trying to quit."
These teens now have a new reason to quit, thanks to the tobacco tax
hike approved by voters in November that has just tripled the state's
cigarette tax -- raising it by 64 cents per pack. Before the increase,
Colorado had one of the lowest tobacco tax rates in the United States.
"We were 43rd in the country, at a 20-cent-per-pack rate," says
Colorado House Majority Leader Alice Madden, a big supporter of the
new tax. "So now, that's going up 64 cents for a total of 84 cents tax
per pack. And that will raise about $175 million per year." Most of
those millions will go toward health programs for Colorado residents
without medical insurance, plus smoking cessation and prevention
programs.
Simply raising the cost of cigarettes makes non-smokers less likely to
start, according to the U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. Ms. Madden says that is important. "If you can keep
someone from starting that first cigarette and getting into the
habit," she says, "that is the best bet for keeping kids from
smoking."
For the countless smokers who have become addicted and want to quit,
many health experts recommend picking up the telephone and calling a
tobacco "quit line." Trained counselors help callers identify trouble
areas they are facing in trying to kick the habit, and they assist in
setting a quit date. In addition, they make return calls to offer
additional support - especially on such occasions as the third day
after quitting, when withdrawal symptoms peak. "That's one of the
hardest times," says Maren, one of the counselors at the Colorado
Quitline. "The other hard times tend to crop up around major
stressors. If a family member dies or a divorce…that type of thing."
Since the program started two years ago, the Colorado Quitline has
helped 27,000 people. Quitline directors hope that some of the new
tobacco tax revenues will go toward advertising their services, so
that even more people call in.
Many smoking prevention programs train student volunteers, who then
talk with younger, middle school children about the dangers of
cigarettes.18-year old Patrick Matsen-Williams, a volunteer in
Boulder, says he is especially disgusted at how tobacco manufacturers
entice young kids. "Like convenience stores," he says. "They were
caught putting tobacco ads next to candy aisles." It is an alarmingly
common ploy, according to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. Patrick
shakes his head. "We learned they're trying to [target children] as
low as six or seven years old to try to get kids to smoke."
Lisa Cech, the Safe and Drug Free Schools coordinator for Boulder
Valley, endorses the use of teen counselors as one of the most
effective ways to reach young people. "They tune out adults
eventually," she says. "So, by having other kids come in and talk to
them, closer to their own age, they're more likely to listen to what
they have to say and learn from them." She hopes to get some of the
funds from the increased tobacco tax to train additional peer
counselors.
Another view of 'Cancer Hill' at Fairview HighBut the teens lighting
up on Cancer Hill have mixed views about the tax. "We don't have
enough money to have the tobacco tax go up," complains one boy. "I'm
not annoyed," admits another, "because at least they're trying to help
you quit, in a way." One of their friends dismisses the goal of the
tax increase. "In Massachusetts," she says, "it's like six dollars a
pack, and people still smoke. So I don't think 60 cents or whatever is
going to make a difference at all."
Smoking-related illnesses currently cost Colorado one billion dollars
a year in health care expenses. Having successfully raised the state
tobacco tax, many anti-smoking activists at the local level are now
pushing for smoking bans in more restaurants, offices and public
buildings.