Letter to the editor: Curb youth tobacco use to lower future health costs

Legislative and cultural battles to curb teen smoking have been a long-waged effort. We have made some progress, with traditional cigarette smoking declining among middle and high school students. However, much more work needs to be done.

The effort by Gov. Mary Fallin to protect the health of minors by increasing the cigarette tax makes sense. However, the current compromise proposal of 75 cent per pack hike is not enough. Proven fact is that a high cigarette price is the No. 1 deterrent to keep youth from starting the habit. Facts also show that if a young person has not started smoking by age 21, their brains normally have the maturation and sensibility to avoid tobacco-product addiction altogether. It is indisputable that people who begin smoking at an early age are more likely to develop a severe addiction than those who start at a later age.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death in the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Increasing both the tax and age of access (from 18 to 21) will lower health-care costs in the long term.

Do not believe the smoke-screen of articles written by those involved in the production, wholesale, and retail of tobacco products opposing the governor's plan. They all stand to reap profits from the status-quo, at the expense of the health of our citizens.

Fallin's proposed cigarette tax increase will widen the gap between the availability of cigarettes and high school-age people. That is a goal worthy of bipartisan support.

Editor's note: Dr. Doug Cox M.D. is a practicing physician and a former legislator.

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