Smoking
Continued from Page 1
said. “I thought I was never going
to be happy again. I am so fidgety
with my hands.”
Many smokers believe the crack
down on tobacco companies and price
increase won’t discourage young
smokers from lightingup.
“I don't think that will stop
kids,” Hannon said. “Making
them less accessible makes it more
exciting for them.”
At 7-Eleven on 13th Avenue
and Alder Street, an employee
said most people understand the
price increase. Major brands now
cost $3.70, and the only price that
stayed fixed was $3.60 for Ameri
can Spirit cigarettes.
Sue McGuire, who works at
Alder Street Market on the comer
of 11th Avenue and Alder Street,
plans to quit smoking in a week
because of the increase. The price
of major brands has increased to
$3.50 at Alder Street Market.
“It’s going to be an expensive
habit,” McGuire said.
Most of her customers knew
about the increase because it had
been mentioned so much in the
media, she said.
“They understand the increase
is not on my end,” she said. “I did
n’t make the raise. I’m paying
$4.50 more a carton, and it adds
up when you buy a 100 cartons a
month.”
There may be another price in
crease Jan. 1, 1999, which could
raise the price of cigarettes to more
than $4.
“It’s a ploy to conform society to
the way some people in power
want us to be,” said student Nick
Deetz, a Marlboro Lights smoker
for the past four years. He thinks
the price hikes hearken back to al
cohol prohibition in the 1920s.
“They can make it harder for peo
ple to smoke, but they can’t stop
people from smoking,” Deetz said.
He said image is part of the
problem with youth smoking. As
long as the image of smoking is
popular and considered cool, peo
ple will continue to smoke.
“They’re treating smokers like
children, by saying we know
what’s best for you and making
that decision,” Deetz said.
Some smokers believe the to
bacco company price hikes are un
fair.
“It takes advantage of people
who smoke to pay for what they’re
[tobacco companies] getting sued
for,” McGuire said.
Even some student nonsmokers
said they would rather see the 45
cent increase go directly to the
government.
“These big companies are doing
it to cover themselves,” said Lana
Byal, a biology major. “I think its
ridiculous how they [tobacco
companies] try to make them
selves out to seem like they’re try
ing to hel p people quit smoking. ”
Byal and nonsmoker Katie Ben
nett, a pre-journalism major, said
they worry that tobacco compa
nies will shift their emphasis to
targeting smokers in third world
countries.
They said they would like to see
more direct government regula
tion.
“They should determine how
much it costs to actually make a
cigarette and regulate how much
companies can actually charge,”
Byal said. “Aside from that, the
rest of the money could go toward
health benefits and deterrent.”
Some worry the price increase
is a regressive tax that will really
hurt low-income smokers the
most.
“If you have to choose between
nutritious food for your family or a
pack of cigarettes, you’re going to
choose food,” said nonsmoker Jes
sica Langer, a sociology major.
“The increase is going to make
smoking more ofa luxury.”
But even many nonsmokers
agree smoking is a part of the U.S.
culture.
“It’s engraved into us that it’s
our right to smoke, and then it
turns into a moral debate,” Byal
said. “With cigarettes it’s not a
moral issue, it’s a health issue.”
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