According to the Centers for Disease Control(CDC), smoking is among the leading causes of death; and, it’s the leading cause of preventable death (2015). The use of tobacco in the United States not only affects participants and their loved ones, but influences other aspects of the system such as the cost of health care in the country. Not only do smokers tend to seek more expensive medical care, but a fair amount of money is poured into policies and programs intended to stop or prevent smoking. Tobacco use is effecting the U.S. physically and economically. The CDC states “Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including more than 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure.
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In other words, any tobacco programs and policies in the U.S. funded by the NTCP are intended to prevent young people from purchasing tobacco, regulate tobacco use in public places, or even control tobacco prices. In addition to prevention programs, the government supplements funding to quit smoking programs. According to the CDC, “in nearly 7 in 10 adult cigarette smokers wanted to stop smoking and more than 4 in 10 adult cigarette smokers had made a quite attempt in the past year” (2015). The CDC suggests that counseling and medication are effective in treating tobacco dependence. There is even a national hotline service which will transfer the call to the home state quit line. Many states offer free support experiences, personalized quit plans, discounted medications, and referrals to other resources. (2015). Programs such as these may be necessary, but they do add to the total cost of health care within the U.S. Tobacco use affects the economy. Again facts from the CDC say that total economic cost of smoking is more than $300 billion a year. Of that, $170 billion is spent in direct medical care for adults while more than $156 billion is “lost in productivity due to premature death and exposure to secondhand smoke” …show more content…
to decrease tobacco users in hopes to reduce health care cost, it may follow examples of other countries, including the United Kingdom and South Africa, by effectively implementing hefty tobacco taxes. If the U.S. were to raise taxes for tobacco it would have to be a drastic raise in order reduce users. Likewise, South Africa raised the tobacco tax to 52% of retail price in 2002 (American Cancer Association, 2012). Many might argue that pricing tobacco at a high price might be unethical and unfair to the producer and the user. Others may say that it not the right of the government to increase the tax on tobacco at unreasonable amounts. The biggest dispute against this control method is that tobacco may become a complicit good. According to the American Cancer Association in regards to South Africa’s tobacco tax, “estimates for 2009 suggest that illicit trade made up 3.1% to 11.9% of the total market…however despite this illicit trade, tobacco use has declined significantly and government revenue from higher excise taxes has risen” (2012). If South Africa can benefit from tobacco tax maybe the U.S could follow the example. Seeing that tobacco is highly addictive and an irreplaceable good to many people, this process would minimally decline tobacco use in the population of regular smokers and tobacco users. But, at the very least, this method to cut tobacco use would prevent people from considering smoking if they cannot afford it in the first
In other words, any tobacco programs and policies in the U.S. funded by the NTCP are intended to prevent young people from purchasing tobacco, regulate tobacco use in public places, or even control tobacco prices. In addition to prevention programs, the government supplements funding to quit smoking programs. According to the CDC, “in nearly 7 in 10 adult cigarette smokers wanted to stop smoking and more than 4 in 10 adult cigarette smokers had made a quite attempt in the past year” (2015). The CDC suggests that counseling and medication are effective in treating tobacco dependence. There is even a national hotline service which will transfer the call to the home state quit line. Many states offer free support experiences, personalized quit plans, discounted medications, and referrals to other resources. (2015). Programs such as these may be necessary, but they do add to the total cost of health care within the U.S. Tobacco use affects the economy. Again facts from the CDC say that total economic cost of smoking is more than $300 billion a year. Of that, $170 billion is spent in direct medical care for adults while more than $156 billion is “lost in productivity due to premature death and exposure to secondhand smoke” …show more content…
to decrease tobacco users in hopes to reduce health care cost, it may follow examples of other countries, including the United Kingdom and South Africa, by effectively implementing hefty tobacco taxes. If the U.S. were to raise taxes for tobacco it would have to be a drastic raise in order reduce users. Likewise, South Africa raised the tobacco tax to 52% of retail price in 2002 (American Cancer Association, 2012). Many might argue that pricing tobacco at a high price might be unethical and unfair to the producer and the user. Others may say that it not the right of the government to increase the tax on tobacco at unreasonable amounts. The biggest dispute against this control method is that tobacco may become a complicit good. According to the American Cancer Association in regards to South Africa’s tobacco tax, “estimates for 2009 suggest that illicit trade made up 3.1% to 11.9% of the total market…however despite this illicit trade, tobacco use has declined significantly and government revenue from higher excise taxes has risen” (2012). If South Africa can benefit from tobacco tax maybe the U.S could follow the example. Seeing that tobacco is highly addictive and an irreplaceable good to many people, this process would minimally decline tobacco use in the population of regular smokers and tobacco users. But, at the very least, this method to cut tobacco use would prevent people from considering smoking if they cannot afford it in the first