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Smoking needs sales tax
■ OUR OPINION: Higher tobacco prices
will help non-smokers get even with a
terrible habit
While Feb. 1 may go down in
Oregon smoker history as
“Black Saturday,” we could
n’t be happier.
Measure 44 is now in full effect, adding
a $.30 tax to each pack of cigarettes and a
35 to 64 percent price increase to other to
bacco products, and the usual reactions
are coming in.
Smokers are mad. Big surprise.
They’re complaining about the higher
prices. Oh no. They have to buy cheap
er brands now because of the higher
rates. What a pity. They’re practically
going broke on a habit they just can’t
quit. Too bad.
No matter how loud
they are, smokers won’t
be getting any pity
from us. We endorsed
Measure 44 in No
vember and now that
it has become reality,
we’re enjoying the benefits — and the
potential benefits.
The best result of the new tax would be
a mass number of smokers quitting the
habit, making our lives a bit easier. For
when it comes down to it, we hate smok
ing. We make no bones about it.
We hate walking behind smokers as the
rancid smoke floats into our faces. We
hate walking out of any major doorway
on campus to multiple smokers lighting
up after class. We hate all the discard
ed cigarette butts on the ground at
strategic campus locations.
In our extreme distaste for the
habit, however, it is important to
note that we don’t believe smok
ers are out to get us. It’s just un
fortunate that the nature of their
habit negatively affects every
one around them, not just
themselves.
Realistically,
mass quitting
won’t happen.
But some bene
fits of the tax are far
more tangible. Most of
the $85 million generated
from the law will go the Ore
gon Health Plan and anti-smoking educa
tion, two worthy causes.
Ironically, smokers may even benefit
from the tax as their bodies start to feel the
effects of the habit and a health plan be
comes more of a priority.
So despite smokers’ ranting and raving,
the new tax only gives us joy. Health care
will receive more money and some smok
<g>
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What’s your opinion on the new cigarette tax? \
Write us a letter expressing your opinion or E
mail us at ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
Letters to the editor must be limited to no
more than 250 words, legible, signed and the
identification of the writer must be verified
when the letter is submitted.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter
for length or style.
ers may be enticed to quit. It’s high time
this disgusting habit becomes a relic of the
past. Perhaps this tax will help.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board.
READER VOICES
Do you think the new cigarette tax is fair?
“I think it’s too much.
Thirty cents a pack is
just... ridiculous. I
can't afford it and I
smoke.”
Jessie Maynard
Freshman
Spanish
“I think it’s a good
thing if we want to
stop cancer. If you
have to find some
thing to tax, I think
cigarettes are a good
thing to tax.”
Kristin Ruegg
Senior
General Science/En
vironmental Studies
“If people choose to
smoke, I think they
should be taxed be
cause second-hand
smoke does bother a
lot of people. There
fore, they should be
taxed more than peo
ple who don't
smoke.”
Nick Panagotacos
Sophomore
Education
“It seems right that
something that caus
es so many health
problems should go
toward paying them.”
Chris Thomas
Senior
Environmental
Studies
“I think people
shouldn't smoke, so
the tax is a good
thing."
Angela Laurlta
Sophomore
Psychology
“You figure that when
you smoke you do
damage to other peo
ple and the environ
ment. There should be
some compensation
for that."
Michael Alarld
Junior
History
All thumbs /j
Disaster
Movies
From “Dante’s
Peak" to “As
teroid,” movies
and television
have gained a
sudden obses
sion with nat
ural disasters.
Sure “Twister”
had some great
action shots,
but how many
times can the
same plot be
repeated? We
say, if you’ve
seen one natur
al disaster flick,
you’ve seen
them all.
The Cosby
Extortion
On the very day
Bill Cosby's
son, Ennis
Cosby, was
murdered, Au
tumn Jackson
launched accu
sations that Bill
Cosby was her
father. Whether
there is any
truth to this,
the timing of
the charges
was particular
ly insensitive.
The Collier
House
The second
oldest building
on campus is
getting a little
tune up. The
removal of
contaminated
wood from the
over 100 year
old deck will
guarantee
many more
years of use
from this his
toric site.
The real
Fugitive
Dr. Sam Shep
pard, the man
on whom both
the television
series and
movie “The
Fugitive” were
based, got
more support
for his alibi that
he didn’t kill his
wife. DNA tests
of the blood
taken from the
1954 murder
site support
claims made
by Sheppard,
who died in
1970, that an
intruder killed
his wife.
Speak jour mind
in the ODE
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