Gambit Weekly- "Clear the Air"

I commend Gov. Blanco and the state Legislature for protecting the public from secondhand smoke exposure by passing The Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act, which prohibits smoking in most public places, including restaurants, beginning Jan. 1. The law will also prohibit smoking on all K-12 school campuses, an important measure that will remove tobacco use from the norm in our school system.

While it is important to work toward policies that require workplaces such as bars, hotels and casinos to be smoke-free, we must also consider the importance of raising taxes on cigarettes in Louisiana. Studies in other states show that for every 10 percent increase in a state’s cigarette tax, there is a 4 percent reduction in use by adults and a 7 percent decrease in use among youth.

In Louisiana, it is estimated that 26.5 percent of adults smoke and 9,000 kids become new daily smokers each year. Our legislators should educate themselves about the positive public-health effects of raising tobacco taxes. In the next legislative session, our legislators will have the opportunity to help reduce smoking rates for adults and especially youth by voting to increasing state taxes on cigarettes.

Frank Beyer
President of the Executive Leadership Council, American Cancer Society Greater New Orleans