Smoking is a filthy habit.
It is inconsiderate for people who have to walk through toxic plumes of smoke and breathe in carcinogens (something all people on this campus can surely relate to). Proposition 86 will create incentives for people to stop smoking and most importantly, it will deter would-be smokers.
Currently, cigarettes in California are about $4.00 a pack with 87 cents going toward taxes. The new bill proposes a tax increase of $2.60 per pack, bringing the cost of a pack of cigarettes to $6.60, according to smartvoter.org. This will be a serious turn off for possible new smokers, especially children whose money is already pretty scarce.
The increase of three hundred percent is a stark contrast from the minimal taxes may seem harsh, especially for people who are addicted. But this can be the motivating factor in getting them to quit their bad habit.
Many argue that the role of the government shouldn’t be to enforce morality, but few can dispute that the public needs to be protected from smokers’ ill effects on others, and the government has a significant place in protecting children from cigarettes. This tax hike will certainly keep children from being able to smoke.
While many children are able to afford the slightly reasonable amount of $4.00 a pack, they might reconsider lighting up when the price of a pack of smokes can buy them a cheap lunch. According to a study conducted by the California Department of Health Services, 700,000 children under the age of 17 may be prevented from future smoking.
Also, 100 percent of the proceeds generated by the tax will go to funding for health care, research into the major causes of death in California, research into nutrition, physical activity and lung disease. More specifically they will go to funding children’s health care, creating a system to enroll children who are not yet covered by health insurance and funding a cost-share system for children whose parents cannot afford coverage, according to the Web site yesprop86.com.
Something that must not be overlooked are the institutions that are funding this new bill. The American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, Association of California Nurse Leaders, California Emergency Nurse Association, California Primary Care Association, Tobacco Free Kids Action Fund, Children Now and the Emergency and Acute Care Medical Corporation are all behind Proposition 86.
Although voters should not vote in favor of the proposition because of the prestige and reputation of the people supporting this bill, there is certainly something to be said about a bill being supported by some of the leading health care organizations in the country.
Voting yes on Proposition 86 has the potential to prevent children from a lifetime of disease and harm.
Lauren Williams is a junor journalism and political science major and opinion editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.
