Aint’ It a Shame
Jimmy Porter… WHEN over 7 million people worldwide die annually from substance abuse — alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco! Of this 7 million, illicit drugs are responsible for 3% of the deaths, alcohol for 26% of the deaths, and tobacco 71% of the deaths. It is also estimated that by 2020 smoking will cause 10 million deaths per year worldwide.
… WHEN smoking is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States! Approximately 48 million U.S. adults smoke cigarettes; half of these who continue will die from a smoking related disease. Tobacco costs $50 billion annually in medical expenditures and $50 billion in indirect costs each year.
… WHEN 22.4% of Mississippi high school students smoke! Nearly 8 million packs of cigarettes are bought or smoked by Mississippi kids each year. It is estimated that 4,400 kids under 18 become new daily smokers every year. Also, if nationwide trends continue, approximately 5 million children today will die prematurely because they started smoking as adolescents.
… WHEN smoking causes 440,000 deaths annually! That extrapolates into 36,666 per month, 8,461 per week, 1,205 per day and 50 per hour. The sad part is that these are your relatives, co-workers, and friends. Smoking reduces the life of the average smoker by 12 years. The death rate for smokers is 2-3 times higher than non-smokers.
… WHEN 69,000 kids under 18 in Mississippi will ultimately die prematurely from smoking! Also, 400 to 750 individuals will die each year from secondhand smoke. Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, murders, and suicides combined.
… WHEN Mississippi’s tobacco care-cost approaches approximately $719 million a year! These costs account for $264 million of our already overly stressed medicaid budget. Residents of our state share this tax burden at the rate of $561 per household.
… WHEN the tobacco industry spends an estimated $200.4 million marketing their products in our state each year! The monies spent in Mississippi are a small part of $15.4 billion spent nationwide. The industry knows that one-third of underage experimentation with smoking is attributable to tobacco company advertising!
… WHEN our state once ranked #4 in using tobacco settlement funds for smoking prevention but now ranks dead last — number 51! Tobaccofreekids.org states, “Mississippi, long a national leader and one of the few states that met CDC’s recommendation, has fallen to dead last because Governor Haley Barbour, a former tobacco lobbyist, has worked relentlessly to eliminate funding for the program.”
… WHEN Mississippi has only an 18¢ cigarette tax, the second lowest in the nation! The average tax for the major tobacco states is 26¢ while the national average is $1.00 on cigarettes. Cancernetwork.com states, “One of the most effective means of reducing the prevalence of tobacco use is by increasing federal and state excise tax rates. A 10% increase in the price of cigarettes can lead to a 4% reduction in the demand for cigarettes.”
… WHEN something can be done, and it is not! Our legislators have introduced bills this year to raise cigarette taxes and lower grocery taxes. But the Senate bill with 27 co-authors died in the Senate Finance Committee chaired by Senator Tommy Robertson, who, (as of this writing) ‘pocket vetoed’ HB 247 which passed overwhelmingly in the House.
A majority of the Senate, 27 members, can pull the bill from his committee and pass it. No doubt the Governor will veto it, but it can be and should be overridden by the House and the Senate. This would be a win-win situation for our legislators and, most of all, the citizens of Mississippi. Why not call your senator and express your opinion on this?