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Cigarette taxes? We love New York

New York City smokers get a hefty increase in the price of cigarettes, which may leave them healthier.

Editorial. Aug. 5, 2002.

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Smokers in New York City don't like the new $7-a-pack price for cigarettes, the highest in the nation. That's a very good reaction, from a public health point of view.

Research shows that even a relatively modest increase in tobacco prices results in lower consumption. A common estimate in tobacco control is that a 10% increase in the price of cigarettes equals 5% reduction by adults and a 7% cut by teens. An added benefit is the number of young smokers who never start because the price is too high. Other recent research suggests that pregnant women are also among those more sensitive to cigarette price increases -- good news for mother and child alike.

Far from being modest, the New York City hike represents a mega-boost in price. It includes a $1.50 increase from the state and one almost as high from the city. It is the most notable example of a good trend: 16 states have raised cigarette taxes this year.

General budget shortfalls are behind those recent hikes. Tobacco taxes present a huge, if still largely untapped, revenue opportunity. After all, this is tax money harvested on a product consumed by addicts.

A higher price, whatever the government's motivation, helps cut consumption and is a good thing. But what would be best is if the money raised was put into comprehensive tobacco control programs. States must do more to cut the deadly demand for tobacco.

As it is, New York City's per-pack price only now matches -- but certainly does not offset -- what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has calculated as the true total cost of tobacco. The CDC estimates that the direct loss due to health costs and lost productivity combined is $7.18 a pack.

That's a lot of money to go up in smoke. It's something New Yorkers now -- and, hopefully, many others sooner than later -- will have to think about every time they buy a pack of cigarettes.

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