Jump to full article: Myrtle Beach (SC) Sun-News, 2007-01-10
Author: Oscar Lovelace
Intro: In our state, the smoking-caused health care costs for Medicaid and Medicare are about $7 per pack of cigarettes sold. The federal tax on a pack of cigarettes is 39 cents, and our current state tax is just 7 cents. So for each pack sold we are presently getting 46 cents to fund the $7 of taxpayer expense for smoking-caused Medicaid and Medicare costs. Why would our governor propose a 30-cent remedy to a $6.50 problem? To say he is a dollar short is an understatement. Remember the figure above does not include the smoking-related health care costs of the uninsured. The best way to get out of a hole is to stop digging.
South Carolina has not raised the tax on a pack of cigarettes since 1977. The governor's idea is not a day late - it is actually three decades late. We are paying dearly for our lack of action, abroad and at home.
In 2002, a terrorist cell in North Carolina was convicted of selling $7.9 million of cheap N.C. cigarettes in Michigan by the tractor-trailer load, raising millions of dollars for the Hezbollah militia. . . .
Increasing our cigarette tax, at least to the national average, is common sense public policy. It is the most effective deterrent to youth smoking, it reduces health care costs, and saves lives here and abroad while generating revenue for our failing health care delivery system. A 2006 voter survey showed that more than
70 percent of S.C. voters are in favor of a dollar tax on each pack of cigarettes. As our legislative year begins, let your voice be heard.
Jump to full article » |