Jump to full article: Greenville (SC) News, 2009-11-18
Intro: There were more adult smokers in the United States in 2008 than in the year before, the first time in nearly 15 years that the rate of smoking has increased , according to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It's a troubling trend for an activity that is the No. 1 most preventable cause of cancer. . . .
Yet, in South Carolina, state lawmakers continue to reject the most effective way to encourage people to quit this harmful and expensive activity: raising the cigarette tax.
South Carolina's cigarette tax stands at 7 cents a pack. Seven cents. That's by far the lowest cigarette tax in the nation, and it has not been raised in more than three decades. . . .
The good news is lawmakers have an opportunity to revive the bill when they convene in January. This is the second of a two-year legislative term, and the Senate can approve the compromise when the session begins.
Whether they do that, or come at the tax increase with a new bill, lawmakers need finally to decide this year to raise this state's abysmally low cigarette tax.
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