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  • 10.07.2010 Smokers fume over cigarette tax hike

    Almost a week after South Carolina's cigarette tax went up 50 cents a pack, smokers in Sumter are still smarting from the blow to their wallets.

    On July 1, the tax per pack on...

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    Give credit to the first type of light a cigarette inside Goldbar on a recent Saturday night: at least pretended to be discreet.

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Tobacco control helps save lives

While New York is in a fiscal crisis, all programs must expect some reduction in their budgets.

However, the budget bill just passed by the Legislature unfairly targets the state Tobacco Control Program. Last year, the program's budget was cut by 20 percent. In this budget bill, the program will be cut by another $15 million.

Tobacco control saves lives, prevents youth from starting to smoke and recoups millions of dollars in health care costs. The state collects billions of tax dollars every year on the sale of cigarettes, but allocates much less than the $254 million recommended by the Centers for Disease Control to the Tobacco Control Program.

Because New York had such an effective program, the state became a leader in the nation in bringing down the smoking rates for both youth and adults. Hundreds of thousands of people either never started to smoke or quit smoking, saving millions of dollars in health care costs.

Sadly, in most cases where state tobacco control programs are cut back, the rebound produced increased rates of tobacco use.