Cigarette smoking is a major problem in the United States as it causes several illness and deaths every year. This makes the government to employ a lot of resources for treating sicknesses related to cigarette smoking which in turn becomes a big burden on the part of the government. The productivity of the people of the United States is greatly affected as a result of illness and deaths arising due to cigarette smoking.
There is therefore an urgent need to curb the behavior of smoking cigar in US which if well regulated will be a big win not only for the US health sector but for the entire economy of the US. Increasing taxes is an effective way through which cigarette smoking can regulated and thus reducing the increasing burden of treating illnesses resulting from the habit (Lee, Para 5). Effect of increasing cigarette’s tax on the public health Just like any other product in a free market, cigarette consumption is affected by the market forces of demand and supply.
If taxes are increased on cigarettes, it will mean that the cigarettes will become more costly and thus less affordable to many. An increase in cigarette taxes will automatically mean that the citizen’s purchasing power of cigarettes will be lowered and thus more people will be excluded from the cigarette smoking bracket. As a result there will be a considerable decline in the number of illnesses and deaths arising as a result of smoking and thus the burden of dealing with such problems will reduce significantly (Peterson, & Luepker, Para 4-5).
The reduction in smoking behavior, as a result of tax increase is not a theory but a fact which have been proven. When Florida increased taxes on cigarettes, there was a marked drop in the number smokers and this was a big win for the public health sector. Research has shown that for every ten percent increase cigarette prices there is a reduction of about seven percent among the youth smokers while the overall smoking of cigarette decrease by about four percent.
This clearly shows that it is real that increasing the tax on cigarettes and thus increasing the price of cigarettes can effectively reduce cigarette consumption among the adults as well as the youth. Therefore, more states should be encouraged to increase cigarette taxes as this will act as a good way of saving millions of people in the United States from suffering from the illnesses caused by the consumption of cigarettes (Lee, Para 7). Increasing taxes on cigarettes will imply that the government will receive more revenues.
This will enable it to be in a good position for employing more resources to the public health sector and thus offer quality health to its citizens. The increased revenues arising from the increased taxes can also be used for creating more awareness among the American people on the dangers associated with consumption of cigarettes. Such campaigns, if well conducted it can act as very effective tools for fighting the battle against cigarette smoking.
It would discourage very many people especially the youths who would be contemplating engaging them selves in the habit later in life. The adult smokers can also be effectively warned of the dangers they are likely to face should they continue with the habit. Thus when more people become informed of the cigarette dangers, less people will be willing to join or continue smoking cigarettes (Peterson, & Luepker, Para 6).