The Willow Glen Resident

Letters

Vilifying the cigarette companies will not solve smoking problem

I smoked my last cigarette in 1973. I became tired of headaches and chest pains and kicked the habit. It didn't require drugs, hypnosis, patches, gum or other methods; I just quit. I never thought that cigarettes were good for us, despite the media spin against tobacco companies. I believe that cigarettes are bad for people, and efforts should be made to encourage people to quit smoking or never start.

However, vilifying cigarette companies and raising taxes is never going to work. Raising the price per cigarette pack won't keep them out of children's hands; demographics prove that teenage children have more spendable income than most adults. If kids can get enough money to buy drugs, they can afford to buy cigarettes.

It is embarrassing to see our elected representatives (Republicans and Democrats) salivating over this new cash cow. They even deny that this tax is, in fact, a tax. They talk about the wonderful things this revenue will do. If you believe them, then you believe everything from Medicare to prenatal care is covered. It comes as a surprise that it is not touted as the savior of Social Security.

It did my heart good to see the tobacco companies balk at the "deal." I have no love for these people, but they do have a point. They are manufacturing and marketing a legal product. In fact, our tax dollars subsidize tobacco farmers in this country.

One important fact has eluded our elected officials in this whole sordid affair: the tobacco companies can move to other countries. There is no law that says R. J. Reynolds must be headquartered in Winston-Salem. In fact, labor and manufacturing costs would be considerably cheaper in a number of other countries.

We must decide what to do about cigarettes. If they are a health threat, shouldn't we make them a controlled substance? Shouldn't we discontinue subsidizing tobacco farmers? Shouldn't we declare smokers addicts and afford them the same rights as others under the Americans with Disabilities Act? Shouldn't we set up rehabilitation programs for recovering addicts? Shouldn't we ban the use of cigarettes in our movies and drive the cigarette companies out of this country? The answer is a resounding yes.

This brings us to the heart of the matter. This whole façade is nothing more than a giant revenue-grabbing scam perpetrated by our elected officials. It has nothing to do with health, or children, or anything else, for that matter. It's all about money.

Keith C. De Filippis
Miriam Court

[ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ]