Brookline —No one is gung ho for more taxes, but some taxes are based on sound public policy. The Legislature should be commended for the cigarette tax increase, as well as their increase in the taxes on “other tobacco products,” which are fruit-flavored and targeted toward addicting kids to nicotine.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Massachusetts, killing more than 9,000 Massachusetts residents each year while thousands more suffer from lung cancer, emphysema and tobacco’s other proven negative health impacts.
Based on past history, we can demonstrate that the recently passed $1 cigarette tax will prevent 27,000 kids from ever smoking, and convince 25,000 adults to kick the deadly habit. Further, such a smoking decline is expected to save the state nearly $1 billion in long-term health care costs.
Evidence shows that tobacco tax increases are simply good public policy. A big “thank you” to our legislators for this common sense law.
— Carole Seigel, volunteer, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Brookline
Publicación original:
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario