Where there's smoke.Tobacco critics are poised to launch an initiative that would add a tax of $2.60 per pack on cigarettes to fund health care costs. Opponents say the 300 percent increase is excessive and may send buyers to the black market. So the Business Journal asks: Should the tax on cigarettes be raised? Craig Fleishman Executive Director Everybody Wins! Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. I'm not a smoker smoker A person who smokes tobacco, almost always understood to be cigarettes Ratio of ♂:♀ smokers Philippines64/19, China61/7, Saudi Arabia53/2, Russia50/12 but it's still of personal interest to me because I live and work where people smoke, so I am a second-hand smoker. It is of relevance for my family and children also. If upwards of $2.50 is added per pack of cigarettes as tax that is only going to give a reason for the black market to surface. It will discourage some people who use cigarettes but who don't have access to the black market. It will not do anything to people who are already addicted ad·dict·ed adj. 1. Physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance. 2. Compulsively or habitually involved in a practice or behavior, such as gambling. . They will find a way. They will either buy it over the Internet or go across the border, either country or state to find tobacco. I think the benefit to the heath care system will be minimal. I firmly believe that smoking has a huge impact on the health care system but it is questionable whether this is going to mitigate the problem. Pamela Toro Toro may refer to:
Business Manager--Project Consulting Davidson Staffing This is a typical move for the "health-conscious" state of California. It would seem a logical way of discouraging smoking and might be effective. However, as with any addiction, human beings will pay whatever it takes to support a habit, and I see this issue being no different. From a practical cost standpoint I think the end result will be less than ideally effective in deterring smoking overall. Jim Province Resource Writer 211 LA County People tend to keep at it--they call it a habit for a reason. The tax will probably benefit the resultant health care issues. There is a certain burden and a direct correlation Noun 1. direct correlation - a correlation in which large values of one variable are associated with large values of the other and small with small; the correlation coefficient is between 0 and +1 positive correlation between public health and cigarette use, so I support such taxes. I don't think it will create a black market. As long as they are available legally, people will complain but still buy. It's like increasing gas prices. People complain but still get gas. It may force a few more people to quit and might decrease the number of kids who are starting to smoke. It's the mystique mys·tique n. An aura of heightened value, interest, or meaning surrounding something, arising from attitudes and beliefs that impute special power or mystery to it: the cowboy mystique; the mystique of existentialism. and exotic nature of it that draws kids in. I don't think they smoke so much that they won't be able to afford it. I tend to believe that there will be no resultant drop in use of cigarettes, just an increase in available funding for the health care system. Ricardo Cardenas Executive Creative Director La Agencia de Orci & Asociados My initial reaction is that people are going to find a way to smoke anyway. There are clear indications of that. If you go to Europe, prices are different there and people smoke just as much. Smokers are not going to worry about prices, so hiking hiking Walking, often among hills or mountains, as recreational sport. It represents an activity in its own right and also figures in backpacking, camping, hunting, mountaineering, and orienteering. prices or tax on cigarettes is not the solution for smoking-related heath issues. If they allocate all that money coming from the tax hike to the health care system, it would be a huge income. People are not going to stop smoking in California. There are several ways to get cheap cigarettes. Dr. Shane Sheibanl Physician New Me Surgical Institute As a physician and an M.B.A., I fully support the cigarette tax. I think it'll benefit health care as a whole, and the social aspect of our community as well. The impact of smoking on an individual's health is immense and influences the economy adversely. People who get diagnosed with smoking-induced illnesses such as lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. and emphysema emphysema (ĕmfĭsē`mə), pathological or physiological enlargement or overdistention of the air sacs of the lungs. A major cause of pulmonary insufficiency in chronic cigarette smokers, emphysema is a progressive disease that commonly are forced to spend their life savings on treatment, when they could have prevented these diseases. I hope the tax hike encourages people to think twice about lighting up, or at least reduce their use of nicotine nicotine, C10H14N2, poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid alkaloid with a pungent odor and an acrid taste. It turns brown on exposure to air. . |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion