Jump to full article: New York Daily News, 2009-11-01
Author: Michael Saul DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
Intro: "The great majority of people who do not smoke should not be forced to pay the costs of people who do," said John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health.
Banzhaf is urging Congress to hit smokers with a surcharge on health insurance premiums, with the bulk of revenue helping the federal government pay for a reform package.
If smokers got lit up for an extra $60 per month, it would generate $33 billion a year, he estimates.
Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, a Washington-based nonprofit, said making smokers pay more is all about equity.
"Everyone who doesn't smoke pays for the people who do smoke - that to us is not fair," she said, noting how smokers are at higher risk for costly diseases. . . .
Daniel Seidman, director of smoking cessation services at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia, said a smoking surcharge would be an unfair penalty on the poor.
"Resources should be put into the system to make it easier to help smokers quit," Seidman said.
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