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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1999)
Use your noon hour to RELAX” Formore information, call Sue at 472-7450 Counseling ^Psychological Services • January 19 Breath of Ufe/Passiue Progressive Relaxation • January 26 Breath Meditation * 12:10-12:45 & Body Scan UHC-Room 43 . ' ... Come Learn... ISSK . Tango Foxtrot Jitterbug Salsa ChaCha i Swing j Brackhan.Pancejpirective • and many more! X;"T- <Vv.. Bil _! to lollar c-'V By Jessica Fargen Senior staff writer Taxing Nebraskans an ^xtra 66 cents per pack of cigarettes was the goal ofabill introduced Friday geared at curbing teen smoking. LB505, introduced by Lincoln Sen. David Landis, would bring die state tax on cigarettes and smokeless and chewing tobacco to $ 1 and gener ate an estimated $75 million for health care funds and initiatives. But those against the hike said increasing the tobacco tax could cre ate a black market for cigarettes, send Nebraskans across state borders to buy cheaper cigarettes and hit poor and middle-class smokers harder. Landis said the purpose of LB505, co-sponsored by Sidney Sen. Gerald Matzke, is not to collect tax dollars for the state, but to save the lives of about 10,000 Nebraska teen agers. “It’s not about raising money,” . i ; LWTf. URf HFAKI. UW UVMR «T*» THAT M or TifA© WtteM TMO*JSA*U>S or *TW»*MT* COM* c To Jamaica To r*«*. a*jl fiiOUY r ro© am wMtorMrvjiHyv r©fCvfSf SBB MtSfe TOWS 1 960-426-7710 IABAAIOA Studeot Travel Sendees 1800-648-4449 _Um|W|U|I^A Price is per person based on quad occupancy; from select departure cities. Other cities may qualify for reduction or require surcharge. US and Jamaica departure taxes (currently $59) and $9 handling charge additional. Rates Increase $30 on 12/15/98. Peak-week surcharges/off-week discounts may apply. Restrictions and cancellation penalties apply. Limited availability. Subject to change without notice. Call for full details on hotel selection and availability. Notice the Double Slice Pizza below? If so, you’ve got an ; overly active imagination. In other words, you’re destined for a great advertising career. While you’re still a student, come try our. Pizza or Pasta for under $4. Class dismissed. 4603 Vme Street, 466-4045, Uncoin ---*-; . - • - - • Landis said. “It’s about reducing teen smoking.” About 39,000 Nebraska teens smoke, but when the price of ciga rettes is raised 10 percent, 15 percent fewer teen-agers buy cigarettes, he said. The proposed hike is a 20-per cent increase, which he said would reduce smoking by 30 percent - about 10,000 teenagers. “It’s demonstrable - if you don’t smoke cigarettes you live longer,” Landis said. “I will vote on probably 400 bills. Which one besides this will save lives?” The tax could generate up to $75 million the first year, but that was not the goal of the bill, said Rich Lombardi, a lobbyist for Citizens for a Healthy Nebraska. “It’s 10,000 lives, that’s the thing,” Lombardi said. “That’s not just an academic undertaking; this is a proven fact. This is the most effective way to save people’s lives.” Groups that already receive money from the current 34-cent tax would be unaffected by the tax change. The money generated from the tax would benefit the state’s envi ronmeniai trust nma, cancer researcn and a state health care fund. Landis said other anti-smoking attempts such as increasing fines if a teen-ager is caught buying or smok ing tobacco and public service announcements are not doing the trick. But Bill Peters, a lobbyist for the Brown and Williamson tobacco com pany, was skeptical of the real bene fits of laws that make it more expen sive to smoke and chew. Peters said studies showing decreased tobacco use proportional to increased price looked good on paper, but the high price of illegal drugs has not curbed teen use. “Whether or not it influences cig arette use among teen-agers, I would say it’s problematical,” Peters said. “If price is a factor, then hard drugs cer tainly haven’t shown us that that dis courages.” Peters said raising the price of tobacco may cause fewer people to smoke, but he doubted the hard statis tics given by Lombardi’s health group. Studies could be flawed, Peters said. Questions arise such as how a smoker is defined and how many ille gal sales slip through the cracks. ' Peters also said regressive taxes, such as a cigarette tax, hit the poor and middle class harder than the rich. “People that buy and use ciga « I will vote on probably 400 bills. Which one besides this will save lives? ” Sen. David Landis rettes are generally lower-income, and within the lower income is a sig nificant population of minorities,” Peters said. “So this will definitely impact them.” Another impact of a heftier ciga rette tax, he said, would be “border bleed” - groups of Nebraskans run ning for neighboring states to buy tobacco. And when Nebraskans buy tobac co across the border, Peters said, the state’s economy loses sales tax rev enue and money spent out of state on other goods while buying cigarettes. Larry Allen, operations manager for Mills Food Shops, which operates k/VT VkMA MIUVV1U VW«TVU*VUVV WkVAW, was also not pleased about the possi bility of another cigarette tax increase. “What kind of a program do you think they’re going to get for 66 cents to get teens to quit?” he asked. “I think it’s a ploy by the government to increase their income.” Allen said teen-agers should be held more accountable for their ille gal actions instead of stores being continually fined for selling to those teens. a “Why aren’t they getting the teen§ for possession?” Allen asked. Allen agreed that making Nebraskans pay more for tobacco products will just drive them to neigh boring states. And it will increase the incentive for illegal activity, he said. “It will make it more lucrative for somebody to steal them and sell them then it does now.” In addition to Landis’ bill, President Clinton has given smokers more to worry about. Clinton announced a plan last week that would add another 55 cents onto the federal cigarette tax to pay for social initiatives such as after school programs and hiring new police officers, as well as military spending. daHyneb.com -,—jm—1-i Responsible Choices ( Sexuality education resources & services LOW-COST PREGNANCY TESTING & ALL-OPTIONS INFORMATION % BIRTH CONTROL SERVICES Abortion services STD TESTING AND TREATMENT FOR MALES & FEMALES. Flu shots and sports/employment physicals Service in a Comfortable, Professional, Non-Discriminatory Environment.