New NeV

Utah
cigarette
tax
Boanerges Lewis
Campus Reporter
Utah may soon have the
most expensive cigarettes in
in-
the theUnited States
which was prompted
by Governor Huntsman and
sponsored by members of
the Utah Legislature would
increase the current tax
from 70 cents per pack to as
high as per pack
According to the
Governors Governor's office this
tax would do two things
Eliminate the food tax that
costs Utah taxpayers
75
million a year supplanting
that revenue reven
revenue
e with
million that the new
tax is predicted to bring in
and help encourage smokers
to quit making Utah a
healthier place to live by
eliminating second hand
smoke
and
encouraging the
young
adults and teenagers
to never
begin smoking
Huntsman
Cancer
Institute
benefactor
and
namesake
Jon
Huntsman
Sr
added his endorsement
to
this bill said
Its
It's
not
just
lung cancer
There
are
multiple
hazards
serious
enough that at best
you
have
a
50
chance
of
not
only getting
sick
but
dying from smoking related
complications
This tax may help
motivate the
98 percent
of smokers in Utah to quit
according to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention
I
believe that
this could greatly decrease
the number of smokers
Health and Wellness
Center Specialist Tatiana
Burton said
In a 2007 student poll
conducted by the Health
and Wellness
52 percent
of respondents were trying
to quit smoking A long- long
term study conducted by the
State of
California found
that for every
10
percent
increase in the tax on a pack
of cigarettes smoking rates
would fall by 65
percent
among youth and 2 percent
among adults
Some however arent aren't as
optimistic that this increase
will help them or their peers'
peers
quit smoking
I
dont don't smoke but come
from a long line of smokers
and
I
dont don't
think someone
who is addicted is going
to quit just because
it costs
more they will probably
just skimp in other places
like food student Cassity
Tidwell said
While he does not think
that the increase will help
him to quit smoking student
Alex supports the
tax
He said
I
think Canada
has it right
11
bucks for a
a-
pack
a-
pack
a-
pack pack of cigarettes and then
use that money to pay for
health care
The Governors Governor's office
said that a portion of the
extra
75 50
million in
revenue would go to fund
new health care programs
as well as eliminate the sales
tax that could help Utah
families in these present
economic conditions
There are also thousands
of people living from
paycheck to paycheck who
could benefit from the tax-
tax
free food The Utah Food
Bank reported a 30 percent
increase in requests
in 2008
compared
to 2007
The
Governors Governor's
office and the
legislature have gradually
lowered the food ta tax in
recent
years from
percent to percent