Tax on Cigarettes

Persuasive Speech
Tax on Cigarettes
I. Opening Statement of Interest- Imagine every year a town the size of Bakersfield disappearing, well you don’t have to imagine because it’s happening already. A. Speaker Credibility- According to Centers for disease control and prevention 443,000 people die prematurely from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, another 8.6 million people live with a serious illness caused by smoking. Despite the factors of smoking 46.6 million adults in the U.S still smoke. My grandpa died at age 70 from lung cancer. He smoked for over 40 years. My grandma being the non smoker now 80 was diagnosed with COPD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, this was caused from secondhand smoke. B. Reason(s) to listen- What a lot of people don’t know it that the harmful effects of smoking do not end with the smoker. An estimated 88 million nonsmoking Americans, including over half being children age 3-11years are exposed to secondhand smoke. Because people who don’t smoke inhale many of the same poisons in cigarette smoke as the smokers. C. Thesis Statement- Today I am going to be talking about first Prop 29 and why I support it, second what it will do , third how we can help, and last how this will help us.
Transition- To start off with, what is Proposition 29 Proposition 29- On June 5th 2012 proposition 29 if approved by California 's voters, the tax on cigarettes in the state will increase by $1.00 per pack. California’s current cigarette tax is 87 cents per pack. The total tax per pack of cigarettes, if Proposition 29 passes, will be $1.87/pack. The additional tax revenue will be used to fund cancer research, smoking reduction programs, and tobacco law enforcement.
According to the Desert Sun: "On June 5, California voters have a chance to save 104,000 lives. We can prevent 228,000 youngsters from starting to smoke. We can generate $500 million for cancer research. And unless you 're among the roughly 12 percent of Californians who smoke, it won 't cost you a thing."

Transition -What it will do if passes According the Boston Globe date shows that for every 10% increase in the cost of cigarettes the overall smoking rates decrease 4%. Raising the price of smoking will perhaps discourage children, who are still tobacco company’s main targets, from picking up this bad habit in the first place. This will lead into lower future healthcare costs and help break the cycle of addicition. A leading study shows that nearly every adult who smokes (almost 90%) took his or her first puff before the age of 18. If passed this legislation would produce 46,000 fewer future kid smokers and 25,000 fewer adult smokers. Raising the tobacco tax saves money here to. A child with asthma whose parents stops smoking today will have fewer asthma related complications from secondhand smoke tomorrow. An expectant mother encouraged to kick the habit by highering prices will give birth to a healthier baby. A teenager who doesn’t start smoking becomes the adult with fewer chances of getting lung cancer, emphysema, or chronic heart disease.
Joe Debbs of the American Heart Association says, "It 's this simple: A no vote on Proposition 29 supports tobacco companies ' strategy of singling out poor people and people of color for addiction and death. A yes vote on Proposition 29 is a vote for better health and life saving research. From our perspective there is no middle ground. You 're either with us, or you buy big tobacco 's lies."
Transition- What we can do to help 1. Recommend that each state fund a comprehensive tobacco control program at the level recommended by the Central disease control. 2. States can implement smoke free policies, regulations, and laws 3. Provide insurance coverage of tobacco use treatment 4. Limit minors access to tobacco products
Transition- Last this will help California in many ways
It will help California 's economy, according to Stanton A. Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. He says, "The $1 cigarette tax increase, combined with 20 cents allocated to reinvigorating California’s anti-smoking program, will help so many people quit smoking that they’ll spend a billion dollars less a year on cigarettes. And $800 million of that billion which is now being sent out of state to Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds and other tobacco interests will stay here in California creating almost $2 billion in new economic activity and 12,000 new jobs.” * A 13.7% decrease in youth smoking; * 228,700 fewer California kids from becoming addicted adult smokers; * 118,300 adult smokers in California who would quit; * Avoiding 22,300 Smoking-affected births over next five years; * Save 104,500 California residents from premature smoking-caused death; * $37.9 million in 5-year health savings from fewer smoking-affected pregnancies & births; * $43 million in 5-year health savings from fewer smoking-caused heart attacks & strokes; * $5.1 billion in long-term health savings in the state from adult & youth smoking declines.

Closing Statement- So in closing an increase in the tobacco levy simply makes sense. It encourages children from smoking. It helps taxpayers, healthcare provider, hospitals, and insurance ratepayers. It extends a helping hand to those hard-pressed families and individuals who are working but lack health insurance.
So come june 5th will you vote yes to help save a life of someone you may know and love.

References
Campaign for tobacco free kids (n.d.). State tobacco taxes. State Tobacco Taxes-Campaign for tobacco free kids. Retrieved May 5, 2012, from http://http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what_we_do/state_local/taxes/
Centers for disease control and prevention (2011, February 22). Tobacco Use Targeting the Nation’s Leading Killer At A Glance 2011. CDC Chronic Disease-Tobacco. Retrieved May 5, 2012, from http://http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/osh.htm
Mercury News Editorial (2012, May 10). Mercury News editorial: Vote yes on Prop. 29 to raise cigarette tax by $1. Mercury News Editorial . Retrieved May 11, 2012, from http://http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_20594038/mercury-news-editorial-vote-yes-prop-29-raise
The benefits of a higher cigarette tax- The Boston Globe.”-Boston, MA news, breaking news,sports,video,N.p.,n.d.Web.10 May 2012. <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ed

References: Campaign for tobacco free kids (n.d.). State tobacco taxes. State Tobacco Taxes-Campaign for tobacco free kids. Retrieved May 5, 2012, from http://http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what_we_do/state_local/taxes/ Centers for disease control and prevention (2011, February 22). Tobacco Use Targeting the Nation’s Leading Killer At A Glance 2011. CDC Chronic Disease-Tobacco. Retrieved May 5, 2012, from http://http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/osh.htm Mercury News Editorial (2012, May 10). Mercury News editorial: Vote yes on Prop. 29 to raise cigarette tax by $1. Mercury News Editorial . Retrieved May 11, 2012, from http://http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_20594038/mercury-news-editorial-vote-yes-prop-29-raise The benefits of a higher cigarette tax- The Boston Globe.”-Boston, MA news, breaking news,sports,video,N.p.,n.d.Web.10 May 2012. &lt;http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ed