Yes on Proposition 86: Tax may stink, but it would save lives

For the small group that finds bliss in a cigarette break, a
$2.60 proposed tax on each pack would cripple their smoking habits
or at the very least lessen the frequency of those breaks.

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But the proposed tax hike would be a small price to pay if it
consequently prevents nearly 180,000 deaths among children now
under the age of 17.

This tax would also be beneficial if it helps prevent another
puff of smoke out of our own mouths, given the negative
consequences of tobacco use.

Proposition 86 would generate about $2.1 billion in the first
year, and revenues would likely decline thereafter.

The tax revenue would benefit children’s health coverage,
tobacco-related programs and various other health programs.

While opponents say taxing 15 percent of Californians to fund
these programs is unfair and unrelated to tobacco prevention
programs (which would directly receive 11 percent of the tax
revenue), they fail to recognize that tobacco-related visits to the
emergency room account for about 25 million patient visits yearly,
according to a medical study published in the American Journal of
Emergency Medicine.

Additionally, the many negative effects of smoking are factors
in many of the illnesses for which patients come to emergency
rooms.

An NPR report stated that emergency rooms are the only
departments in a hospital that regularly generate more costs than
profits.

Specifically, Los Angeles-based hospitals have to resort to
using profits from other departments just to keep their emergency
department running.

If smokers do not care about the harm they inflict on their
bodies and would continue smoking even after a tax hike, then we
should use that money to help those who do care about their
bodies.

It is unfortunate that money would have to be the motivating
factor in getting people to stop smoking, but if this is the only
resort left, then a “yes” vote on Proposition 86 is the
only appropriate path to resolution.