Jump to full article: Pacific Daily News (gu), 2008-09-14
Author: Cole Herndon
Intro: Albert Einstein proclaimed, "Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them."
In concurrence, Gov. Felix Camacho announced in the 2008 State of the Island Address that "... this Administration is placing an emphasis on preventive health care." . . .
The governor's announcement is supported in the "Guam Epidemiological Profile" report for 2006, which stated that the three leading causes of death -- diseases of the heart, malignant neoplasm and cerebrovascular disease -- are all tobacco-related. In 2004, these three causes of mortality accounted for 56 percent of all deaths on island.
Additional causes of death on the list are either precipitated or exacerbated by tobacco use . . .
When all these local statistics are taken into account, a very compelling argument can be made for raising tobacco excise taxes to offset Guam's public health-care costs and to fund cessation and anti-smoking educational programs.
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