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Increasing Cigarette Tax A Must

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 23, 2009

Florida is long overdue to increase the tax/user fee on tobacco products. Florida is currently 46th in the country in cigarette tax at 33.9 cents per pack. Florida ranks second in cancer incidents and sells the most packs of cigarettes in the country, with 1.3 billion sold each year.

Florida has not had an increase in this tax since July 1990. Studies show that for every 10 percent the tobacco price increases, 4 percent of adults and 7 percent of our youth will quit smoking. Currently, each pack smoked costs taxpayers $10.24 in medical care for cancer-related issues.

Raise the Florida "user fee" by at least $1 per pack to help cover the gap in medical care costs of smokers in Florida. Lawmakers also must make finding a cure for cancer a national priority. The burden of cancer falls on many.

KRISTY DEATON

Riverview

The writer is a member of the American Cancer Society.

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