Tobacco Documents Online

JACK REED 2D DISTRICT, RHODE ISLAND COMMITTEES EDUCATION AND LABOR JUDICIARY MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE Congregz of the Nttiteb btateg J0Duze of ~.tepre5sentatibeg R agfjington, OC 20515-3902 @ TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE JACK REED BEFORE THE HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE SIIBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH NOVEMBER 18, 1993 ' PLEASE RESPOND TO: WASHINGTON: 11 1510 LONGWORTH BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515-3902 (202) 225-2735 DISTR/CT: O GANDEN CITY CENTER 100 MiDWAr PLACE SUITE 5 CRANSTON, RI 02920 (401) 943-3100 TDD RELAY RHODE 13LAND 1-/800) 745-5555 Thank you, Mr. Chairman; for allowing me to testify today before your Subcommittee in support of a tobacco tax to finance health care reform. Reform of our health care system must be our highest priority. This is a defining moment in our history. This debate will shape the character of our society as well as our capacity to compete in a global economy. No matter how much we cut domestic p1 ograms or defense spending, the deficit will still increase unless we reform our health care system. If we do nothing, nearly 1/2 of every dollar of real economic growth between now and the year 2000 will go to feed the increasing cost of health care. And these numbers do not tell the story of millions of Americans who are currently denied access to care. I am pleased that the President has included a tax on tobacco products as part of his financing proposal for his reform plan. It is both good tax policy and good health policy. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Coop has stated that increasing the cigarette tax could be one of the most important public health measures this country has ever taken. Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the U.S. and is responsible for more than one of every six deaths. Cigarettes kill more than 419,000 Americans each year, which is more than" alcohol, heroin, crack, autctmobile and airplane accidents, murders, suicides and AIDS combined. In addition, cigarettes cost the American public more than $65 billion each year in tobacco-related health care-costs and lost productivity. Tobacco taxes have a significant impact on tobacco consumption, and an increase tax will discourage one of the more distressing aspects of--cigarette consumption; the 3,000 children each day i-o begin to smoke. It is estimated that between $4-5 million annually is spent by Rhode Island minors illegally purchasing tobacco, primarily cigarettes. Although smoking among adults in Rhode Island has been declining since 1985, it is estimated that 17% of children attending grades 7-12 were smokers, with prevalence ranging from 8% of 7th graders to 29% of 12th graders. The majority of smokers began smoking before__the 9th grade. In 1989, cigarette smoking-attributable deaths accounted for 19% of Rhode Island deaths and for 21% of deaths occurring among adults 35 and older. Decreasing smoking-attributable mortality nationwide requires a vigorous effort to maintain the decline in adult smoking, to protect non-smokers from environmental tobacco smoke, and perhaps most important, to prevent the initiation of smoking among adolescents. Rhode Island has recently passed legislation toward this end. In 1992, the state of Rhode Island passed the Smoking Restrictions in Schools Act which prohibits smoking in any K-12 schools in the state and on school buses. This effort should be commended and augmented by the federal government's leadership and implementation of a cigarette tax. Support for tobacco taxes is strong among all social, economic, and political groups around the country. I hope that it will be supported here in-Congress as well.