There is more bad news for cigarette smokers – the US government is raising the age of consumption to 25 years old, due to the increasing health dangers of tobacco.
The cost of healthcare to treat the illnesses caused by tobacco was $96 billion in 2014.
By raising the legal age of consumption to 25 years old, it is estimated to reduce these costs by nearly 60% by the year 2021.
According to the Cancer.org website, tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US.
Yet more than 45 million Americans still smoke cigarettes.
Tobacco smoke contains 7000 chemicals and compounds. Hundreds of these are toxic, and at least 69 are cancer-causing.
Currently there is a proposal to add an additional $2.50 tax to the price of a pack of cigarettes. They say a vote for raising the cigarette tax, as well as raising the age of consumption, is a vote against cancer.
States must increase their tobacco tax, because they expect the sales of cigarettes to dramatically decrease when raising the legal age of consumption to 25.
But Roy Jensen, director of the University of Kansas Cancer Center insists, “The most important components are the health benefits that will derive from it.”
However, The Citizens for Tobacco Rights are not happy about this new law which is set to take effect September 2016.
“If Congress gives the president what he wants, federal excise taxes will have increased almost ten-fold in just over a decade,” says the tobacco rights website. “The president’s tax increase will take the average price per pack up to $7.85, and put more than 70% of the price you pay for cigarettes into government pockets.”
When raising the legal age of tobacco consumption to 25, you can expect more black-market sales of cigarettes as well as arrests for underage purchases.
Activists say this law will only add to the problem.