Smoking Ban Upheld: No April Fool's Joke Here

The South Carolina Supreme Court sided with common sense yesterday in their ruling allowing local municipalities to enforce no smoking ordinances: Greenville News article

I will be honest, I didn't see this coming but I am relieved. Listen, I am a once-smoker. I grew up in a family of smokers (mostly the males, we are hard-headed) but I also really enjoy going to see music or have a drink without smelling like an ashtray. Smoking sucks! It's just a fact of life and it's about time that SC figures out that not forcing someone to suck someone's second hand smoke does NOT infringe on the personal rights of the smoker at the same time. The argument has weakened as business in large cities continue despite smoking bans, and in some cases business has improved after the smoking ban. After all, the dollar is the driver! Tricia and I are looking forward to getting the chance to enjoy more nightlife without the limitation of smoking venues.

The next thing we really need to tackle is the ridiculously low cigarette tax that South Carolina continues. It's our special way of protecting the rights of the tobacco farmers (wink, wink) but then again we still haven't figured out how North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky can still operate state governments and raise cigarette taxes at the same time (wink, wink). The courageous law makers in Columbia (again:wink, wink) are still trying to wrestle their way through the hurdle of raising cigarette taxes (the lowest in the nation and unchanged since 1977) and funding Medicaid at the same time. It's really a test of common sense. Hopefully, they can figure it out and maintain what's left of pride in the outcome.

On that note, here's a letter I wrote to my home town newspaper, The Item, a few years ago:
See ya!
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Cigarette Tax MUST be increased

It’s a shame that South Carolina continues to remain at the very bottom of the list among all 50 states in terms of cigarette taxes. We hear far too often how South Carolina ranks at the bottom of almost every list ranking states in terms of health or education. Fortunately, there is something that can be done about this particular shameful ranking.

The Surgeon General (June 2006) just released another report about secondhand smoke. And guess what? The study indicates that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke! This study and numerous others before clearly indicate that cigarette smoke is dangerous to our health. There is a direct link between cigarette smoking and chronic illness like asthma and coronary artery disease. Here in Sumter, we live in the stroke belt with one of the highest incidences of cardiovascular disease in the country. As a community, we should be working to do all that we can to reverse the trends and get South Carolina out of the cellar.

One simple way to help our community is to demand a reasonable increase in the current embarrassing rate of seven cents per pack. The national high is $2.46 (Rhode Island) but the national average is closer to 95 cents per pack (http://www.tobaccofreekids.org). The old excuse about hurting our farmers with an increase in cigarette taxes is no longer valid. Tennessee and North Carolina have both recently raised their cigarette tax rates. If North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia can raise their rates and still support a tobacco economy, we can too.

Raising the cigarette tax will also help reduce teenage smoking. Thankfully, South Carolina recently closed the enforcement gap and made cigarette possession by minors against the law. Studies have shown that the higher the cigarette tax, the lower the chance that teenagers in the state will take up smoking. If they can’t buy them or smoke them in public, they might not start smoking.

I should point out that I smoked for almost 10 years from the time I was 14 until I was in the Army. One night on TDY, I found myself trying to smoke a cigarette on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand. I soon found myself choking from a mix of city pollution and cigarette smoke. I made a vow to never put myself in that “suffocating while awake” feeling ever again. I quit in 1995. Many of my family have smoked and some continue to feed that awful addiction. So, I know firsthand how hard it can be to stop. But, if we continue to make it easy and cheap to buy, how can we honestly say we are helping to stop others from starting? Funny, a recent survey in South Carolina even showed something like 70% of smokers supported an increase in the cigarette tax. Even smokers know it’s shamefully low.

Even as nonsmokers we can no longer stand by on the sidelines and say we are not affected. All of us are affected by the illness caused by cigarette smoke. If you work and pay Medicaid taxes, then you are paying for the care of many people who smoke and have to seek treatment for their chronic illnesses. Don’t think about this as about taxes, consider this to be about paying for what is used. It’s like pre-paid insurance. If smokers with no healthcare insurance go to the hospital to seek treatment for problems caused or made worse by cigarette smoke, who do you think picks up the tab when they do not pay for their care? Even those with Medicaid coverage are still causing the healthcare providers to lose money. Every Medicaid patient treated, whether in the hospital or in a doctor’s office, is a direct loss (in terms of money used to treat and money received for treatment). Medicaid reimbursements have gone down every year. No wonder doctors do not want to accept any more Medicaid patients. If these smokers or the family members of smokers have no doctor, where do they go? The emergency room of the local hospital is the only option, which only leads to more overcrowding and longer waits.

If we demand that any increase in cigarette taxes be 100% dedicated to healthcare and anti-smoking education we can do something about the Medicaid funding crisis we are facing in South Carolina. Every year, we leave millions on the table because we refuse to fully fund Medicaid. Did you know that the federal government will match our Medicaid funding dollar for dollar plus 69% (FY2006) for every dollar we fund to Medicaid? That’s like having someone put $1.69 in your savings account for every $1 you contribute. Think about the millions of dollars we could put into the healthcare system for our most poor and vulnerable if we simply raise the cigarette tax to a more reasonable rate.

Increasing the cigarette tax faces serious opposition in Columbia. But, not all of our local politicians in Columbia are against a common sense approach to cigarette taxes. Our very own Rep. Murrell Smith should be highly commended and supported for his commitment to raising the cigarette tax. It takes courage and strength to stand up for what is really right for the community.

So, please join me in demanding a common sense approach to cigarette taxes in South Carolina. Write or call our senators and representatives and let them know you care about the health of all South Carolinians and support a reasonable cigarette “use” tax. Demand that all additional monies be dedicated to healthcare and antismoking education. Also, be sure to support smoke-free restaurants and businesses in Sumter.

We can make a difference; but, sitting by and waiting for someone else to do something about it is exactly what the tobacco lobby wants us to do. Our children deserve better than that. South Carolina should be proud of all that we have to offer: plenty of sunshine, beautiful beaches, lakes and mountains, great communities and friendly people. Let’s take “the lowest price on a pack of cigarettes” off that list.

Mark H. Johnson

Sumter