Wednesday, April 2, 2003

I would like to speak on the current legislative issue regarding HB 379, increasing the tobacco user fee. I am a daughter of a 59-year-old woman who died from smoking related disease in 1998.

The hardest thing I have ever done was to take care of her and watch her die a slow death, for 18 long months! Mom cried many times and expressed her regret for smoking, but realized she was addicted and didn't have the power to lay down the cigarettes. It was only after going on life support, surviving a horrible hospital stay and then being put on 24-hour oxygen that she was forced to quit.

While she lay dying and wasting away to 56 pounds, losing her eyesight and experiencing incredible pain, she expressed anger toward the tobacco industry for making cigarettes so appealing to her as a youth. But as any smoker can tell you, she was hooked by the time she became an adult.

Most of my life growing up Mom was a single parent, who often worked two jobs to support us and provide health insurance. I tell you these details because it will help me make my point. You see, as a worker in the health care area, I see people every day who die from smoking-related cancer or illness.

I mentioned how difficult my Mom had it to provide health insurance for us but I have to believe that if she were not a smoker she would not have had to work so much in order to pay for it. The money she would have saved on cigarettes would have paid our insurance premiums.

I do not wish to offend anyone, as I have many friends and family members very dear to me who choose to smoke. The point is that many tobacco users do not have health insurance because they cannot afford it. Often times these same smokers are Medicaid recipients and supported by taxpayers. I dare say that the money spent on tobacco would be enough to pay for hospital insurance. In fact, a 2-pack-per-day smoker spends about $180 per month on cigarettes. Ironically a health insurance policy for a 40-year-old smoker would cost about $180 per month in premiums. I say, what is wrong with this picture?

Pay for cigarettes, but let a neighbor taxpayer pay for your health insurance? If that statement is not enough to inspire 70 percent of you to support HB 379 (30 percent of Georgians use tobacco), then consider the following facts:

It is estimated that Georgia spends $1.75 billion annually (on direct health care costs) and of that amount, $419 million is spent on Medicaid recipients for tobacco-related illnesses.

Our current budget deficit is over $620 million, which could possibly be remedied in one year by increasing the tobacco user fee by 75 cents, effecting only tobacco users, making them more responsible for their share of the health care expenditures. This is a very obvious solution to recovery.

Before criticizing members of the Georgia General Assembly for supporting this "tax" increase, please consider that many who signed taxpayer protection pledges did so prior to inheriting a $620 million deficit in the budget.

There has not been a tax increase on tobacco products in 32 years. Only the tobacco industry has raised their prices, not benefiting Georgia's revenue at all. Furthermore, there currently is no tax whatsoever on smokeless tobacco (possibly making this product more attractive to our youth).

On the health side of things: 87 percent of all lung cancers are caused by smoking, which means that 87 percent of all lung cancers are preventable.

The average age of a first-time smoker is 13, and 89 percent of smokers started before age 18. I'd say tobacco has a definite impact on our youth.

Well, have I convinced anyone to pick up the phone and call your local representative and tell them that you would like their support on the HB 379, If we don't let them know that we support this, they have no way of knowing what we voters expect from them. Let's be fair to the people that we have given this responsibility to and offer them our support.

Our children deserve it and so do all the families of those who have lost their lives from the dreadful effects of this poison. It is a win-win proposition for Georgia's kids, health care and the economy.

Debby Tourville

American Cancer Society

Fayetteville