According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40% of Idaho youth have tried smoking. Of that group 14.5% have smoked at least one cigarette in the last month. Many of these young people have successfully purchased their own tobacco products and currently have no intention of trying to quit. This is tragic because we can easily reduce these numbers by simply making cigarettes more expensive.

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death in this country. In my community I see the devastating effects brought on by a lifetime of smoking, in the form of heart attacks and strokes, emphysema and cancer. It would seem to be in the state’s best interest to deter as many youth and young adults as possible from such a bad habit. The best deterrent we know of is to price tobacco products out of the reach of most young people.

There is a proposal before the Idaho Legislature to raise the cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack, and other tobacco products accordingly. If you look at what has happened in other states, as published by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, this price increase could reduce youth smoking in Idaho by 19%. A higher tobacco tax has the support of 71% of Idahoans, according to public opinion research conducted by Moore Information Incorporated. Moore’s trusted research has been used by Governor Butch Otter, Representative Raul Labrador and Senator Jim Risch.

Every year about 5,000 Idaho youth try cigarettes for the first time. About 1,400 of them become regular smokers. We know that teens are more sensitive to price increases than the general population. If the cost of tobacco increases by a dollar or more, fewer youth will buy it. As an added bonus the number of adult smokers will also decrease.

The tobacco companies are pouring vast resources into battling this proposed increase, arguing it unfairly targets people who can least afford it. They know making tobacco more expensive will shrink the market for their deadly products, especially among the young who hold for them the promise of lifelong dependence and profits.

Idahoans are fiercely independent. The last thing we want is for some outside company to be deciding the fate of our young people. And yet that is exactly what is happening when we allow tobacco companies to sell their deadly wares at such low prices. They couldn’t care less about the health and future of our youth, as long as they make their money.

The Idaho Legislature has an opportunity to say no to big tobacco. We can collectively agree that our young people deserve a chance to live long, healthy, disease-free lives. Their health is more valuable to us than the profits of nameless, faceless corporations. I urge you to contact your legislators and add your voice to mine in support of this common sense measure.

Raising the tobacco tax is the right thing to do for the health of our communities and the future of our youth.