STRAIGHT TALK FOR TEENS

Thoughts on taxing cigarettes

5/31/2012

Dear Straight Talk: I'm following the ballot proposition to add $1 tax to a pack of cigarettes purchased in California. The tax will be used for researching tobacco-related cancers and illnesses. There are claims that the tax increase will reduce the number of young people who light up. If it helps curb new smokers I'm all for it, but a friend thinks it's just another tax on the mostly poor and uneducated. Does your panel think this extra cost will be a deterrent for new smokers? -- Curious about the youth perspective in Irvine, Calif.

Elise, 20: I support the tax for cancer research. However, if kids want to smoke, I doubt it will affect their decision.

Gregg, 21: Wrong. I used to smoke, and the biggest reason for stopping was the price. First I cut back as a way to continue, but the cost was still too much and I eventually quit.  

Catherine, 25: I don't know anyone who has avoided cigarettes completely (they are everywhere at parties), but I know many who have quit because they couldn't afford the habit. Anything to discourage young smokers!

Justin, 25: I work at a gas station where hefty profits come from tobacco. Every time the price goes up, people groan and say they should quit, but never do. We are near the high school and young people are always starting up. I support the tax. Let smokers pay ALL the costs of smoking.

Taylor, 15: Anything to lower the smoking rate is a good thing.

Omari, 18: I've never smoked and don't understand the mentality. With the prices, it's like financially sponsoring your own death. I support the tax increase and think cigarettes should be as illegal as marijuana.

Colin, 18: The California legislature can't get traction balancing the budget when so much of its revenues (this measure's included) are mandated as to how they can be spent. Smoking stinks, but Prop 29 is no help to our budget and should be defeated.

Peter, 25: Taxing an addictive substance with lots of users will definitely increase revenues. But a dollar-a-pack increase isn't high enough to significantly deter users. So, yes, it ends up being a tax that mostly targets the poor.

Brandon, 20: Some young smokers will just switch to pot. Pot-smoking friends say pot gives them more "puffs" per dollar than a pack of cigarettes. The cigarette tax pays for the stupidity of smoking.

Molly, 20: Cigarettes are already ridiculously expensive. But people don't start smoking by going out and buying themselves a pack. They start with friends. By the time they start buying, they're hooked, and their addiction doesn't disappear because the price is higher. I think the tax will just penalize those who already struggle. How about taxing the tobacco companies instead? 

Katelyn, 17: Long-term smokers will still buy tobacco, but the government isn't the only one who thinks with its wallet -- many teens do too.

Dear Curious: Well, there you have it. A good range of controversy with more than 70 percent of responding panelists supporting the tax. Right now, 1 in 12 teens smoke, and 1 in 3 young adults smoke. Gauging from other states who raised their cigarette tax, the higher price should prevent 220,000 kids from getting addicted and motivate 100,000 adults to quit.

--Lauren

Contact Straight Talk TNT at www.straighttakTNT.com or write PO Box 963 Fair Oaks, CA 95628.