Newspaper Page Text
OCTOBER 1, 1998 AUGUSTA FOCUS
10A
New statewide initiative targets teenage
smoking, tobacco user fees in Georgia
ATLANTA , Ga.
The Coalition for a Healthy And
Responsible Georgia(CHAßGe) to
day announces a new, statewide
awareness campaign toreduce teen
age tobacco use in Georgia by call
ing attention to tobacco’s harmful
effectsand the relationship between
higher tobacco user fees and lower
tobacco use by young people.
CHARGe’s members --- includ
ing the American Cancer Society,
American Heart Association,
American Lung Association and
others --- are targeting their cam
paign to young people, parents,
publicofficials and healthcare pro
fessionals.
“Tobacco use hurts Georgians,
especially our youth. Preventing
young people from starting to
smoke is likely to be the most
effective long-term approach tore
ducing the health problems associ
ated with tobacco use,”’ said Andy
Lord, aspokesperson for CHARGe.
“We want to reduce youth access
totobaccoand educate peopleabout
the misleading tactics used by the
tobacco industry to target
Georgia’s youth,”
“The campaign speaks to every
one involved in dealing with the
lethal effects of tobacco use and the
harsh impact it hason lives, health
care, and the economy,” said Lord.
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More than 10,000 Georgians die
each year due to tobacco-related
causes --- more than cocaine, alco
hol, car accidents, suicide, heroin,
AIDS, fires and homicides com
bined.. One in five young people
are projected to become addicted to
tobacco products, and one-third
will die from tobacco-related dis
ease.
Adultsdon’t start smoking, chil
dren do. Some 89% of adult smok
ers began using cigarettes by age
18, according to a 1994 report from
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. According to a
1994 report by the Institute of
Medicine, National Academy of
Sciences, the most-effective long
term approach to reducing health
problems associated with tobacco
useisto prevent people from start
ing to smoke. Studies and experi
ence in other states have demon
strated that higher tobacco user
fees will result in lower tobaccouse
by young people. Youth are par
ticularly sensitive to priceincreases
--- possibly up to three times more
sensitive than adults. For every
10% increase in the price of to
bacco products, tobacco use by
young people decreases 12-to-14%.
Georgia’s 12-cents per pack tax
oncigarettes -the fifthlowest rate
in the country -- has not been
increased in nearly 30 years. The
Augusta Focus
is our newspaper. E-mail your thoughts,
comments concerns to us at:
augustafocus@mindspring.com.
FOCUS your business news or
personnel announcements in the
Augusta Focus. Fax your
information to (706) 724-6969.
Living Better
state has no tax on spit tobacco
products.
“Georgia’s current tobacco tax
is far below the national average,
even though Georgia hasoneof the
highest rates of tobacco-related
death in the nation,” said Lord.
A new study by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) shows that lower-income,
minority and younger populations
are more likely than other groups
to quit or cut down on their smok
ing in response to cigarette price
increases, resulting in consider
able health benefits.
According to the CDC analysis of
14 years of health data, smokers
with family incomes equal to or
below the study sample median
($33,106in 1997 dollars) were more
likely to respond to price increases
by quitting than smokers with fam
ily incomes above the median.
Based on American Cancer Soci
ety figures, CHARGeestimates that
asl-perpackincreasein Georgia’s
cigarette tax would reduce under
age smoking by 42.5 percent and
adult smoking by more than 25
percent. It also would raise an
estimated $525.8 million in new
revenues for the state in the first
year.
A 1992-94 analysis of smoking
behavior among Bth-, 10th- and
12th-graders, conducted for the
National Bureau of Economic Re
search, estimates that a 75-cent
increase in user tobacco user fees
during that period would have re
duced the number of smokers age
12-17 by nearly 1.6 million. In
turn, there would be 400,000 fewer
premature deaths due to tobacco
among this group of young people.
Anotherstudy indicates an increase
of 10 percentin the price of tobacco
user fees would result in 1 of every
15 college-age smokers quitting the
habit. ;
A recent Gallup poll showed that
70% of smokers between age 12
and 17 regret beginning to smoke,
and 66% want to quit. However,
they have a very negative opinion
of their ability to quit. Along with
the physical addiction caused by
nicotine, most teens are also “peer
addicted.” And while four-fifths of
adult smokers would like to quit,
only about 2.5% succeed each year.
Tobacco companies spend more
than $5 billion a year -- about sl3
million each day -- on advertising
and promotionin the United States.
Tobacco advertising, marketing
and promotion to youth is met
with little or no resistance from
the state, in terms of budgetary
allowances for tobacco education,
anti-tobacco legislation, and to
bacco sales to minors.
IF YOU PAY YOUR CHILD SUPPORT,
THIS HUG’S FOR YOU!
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MAXIMUS
Child Support Services
There is $l.B
billion in Black
buying power in Augusta
— Selig Center for
Economic Growth,l997
You Can’t Afford Not
to Advertise!
FOCUS your religious news or
special announcements in the
Amen Corner. Call (706) 724-7855
or fax (706) 724-6969.
2525 Washington Road, Suite P
Augusta, Georgia 30904
706.733.0791
Under contract with the State of Georgia,
Department of Human Resources,
Division of Family and Children Services