More Americans Attempt To Quit Smoking After Tax Hikes
The American Cancer Society’s national smoking quitline reported nearly 13 times more calls than usual after the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes went up almost threefold.
American Cancer Society spokeswoman Claire Greenwell told AFP that on the first day of the federal excise tax increase on tobacco products 131 calls were made to the quitline.
She said they normally average 10 to 12 calls per day.
Smoking cessation telephone counselor Robert Wright at the American Lung Association’s office in southeast Washington said his ear had been glued to the receiver since April 1.
"To give you an idea, we normally would get something like 160 calls a month. On the day the tax went up, we got 139 calls and it’s been like that ever since," he said.
Raising taxes on cigarettes pushed 72 percent of smokers to make an attempt to quit, according to a survey conducted by pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Smith Kline, which makes nicotine-substitute chewing gum Nicorette.
The survey also noted that sales of Nicorette have gone up in the past when taxes on tobacco are raised.
Glaxo spokeswoman Jennifer May said the company does see an uptick in sales when tobacco taxes increase, adding that the increases give more people an incentive to try to quit.
A pack of cigarettes went up from 39 cents to just over one dollar under the new federal tax, while users of other tobacco products, such as roll-your-own tobacco and small cigars, will be hit with even higher increases.
On April 1, the federal taxes on rolling tobacco, which used to be $1.09 per pound, skyrocketed to $24.78 a pound, while the federal tax on small cigars went up from $1.82 per 1,000 to $50.33.
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program revenue will be partially funded by the tobacco tax hikes.
However, as the US economy slumps deeper into recession, the tax increases and dull economy may cause members of low-income households to smoke more, as they are more likely to be laid off in the current economic climate.
Nearly one third of American smokers earn less than 30,000 dollars a year and nearly two-thirds earn less than 50,000 dollars a year, according to a poll by the Pew Research center.
The poll also showed that only 13 percent of smokers in the United States earn more than 100,000 dollars annually, and one in five earn between 50,000 and 99,000 dollars.
Mildred Morse, founder of the National Tobacco Independence Campaign and a trainer-facilitator at GOSPEL (Glorifying Our Spiritual and Physical Existence for Life), a church-based smoking cessation program, said the poor have greater stressors, and stressors are triggers for the use of tobacco.
Morse hosts once-weekly cessation meetings in the Washington suburb of Wheaton where she recommends everything from pharmaceutical aids to help from above for people who want to kick the habit of lighting up.
"I recommend things like nicotine gum, patches, lozenges and also pharmaceuticals without nicotine, like Zyban and Chantix, but only if people also have counseling, because people have to understand why they smoke if they are going to be able to kick the habit," she said.
She added that while it isn’t a curriculum requirement, she also encourages people to pray if it helps them to quit.
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