Tobacco Documents Online

Copyright 11993 American Broadcasting Companies; Inc., Alll rights reserved. ABC NEWS SHOW: WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WTTHi PETER JENNINGS - MAY 13, 1993 LENGTH: 3864 words BODY: ANNO'UNCER: From ABC, this is WorldiNews Tonight with Peter Jennings. PETER JENNZNGS: Even a hint of inflation was enough to rattle Wall Street a bit. The Dow Jones Ihdustrials lost about 34 points today to close at 3;447, and thee trading was heavy: In a moment4 we'll have the other news. American Airlines tells its passengers, "'Easten, your seatbelts and put away your computers". In our report, on Medicine and Money tonight, should there be a new tax on tobacco products? And why so many people in Colorado have fallen in love with a bunch of losers. [Commerciai break] ### PETER JENNINGS: In Bosnia Herzegovina today, another cease-fire which never materialized. In the southwestern city of Mostar, Croatian troops keep up their offensive against the city's Muslims. UN military observers from Spain are patrolling the! streets, buti all they're able to do is to wateli and listen. The governmeno in Britain says it certainly looks as if somebody has beenibugging the private conversations of Prince : Charles and Princess Diana and lnaking them tolthe press. But who:is doing the bugging? A number of Britash tabloids say today it's British intelligence. The government says that's ridiculous. When we come back, Medicine :and Money - how fair is alnew tax on tobacco? [Commercial break] ### PETER JENNINGS: In Washington today; more than a thousand tobacco: farmers from North Carolina, held a, rally outside the Capitoll "Don't raise taxes on cigarettes, " was their message: "Our jobs are on the line". Presidbnt, Cltntion, is considering raising the cigarette taxby as muchias $2 a pack. The money would help pay for his health care package: In our regular look at Medicine and Money; this question - would a cigarette~ tax be unfair to tobacco farmers? ABC's Walter Rodgers is in North Carolina. WALTER RO'DGERSc Betty and John, Vollltner have been farming tobacco most of their lives and spring,has never lookedl so bleak. They are worriied'that higher O cigarette taxes will drive down demand for their crop even further. N Cigarette manufacturers already import 25 percent of their tobacco from ~ overseas because it is less expensive. A higher tax would make imported ~ tobacco even more attractive. ~ . N ~ ~

JOHN' VOLLMER / TOBACCO FARMER: Well„it forces companies to seek cheaper tobacco in order to keep the price of cigarettes dbwn. Andy they f nd! that from people overseas. So our jobs as a grower are going to be exported to Brazil and Zimbabwe. WALTERRODGERS: The tobacco industry claims a $1-per-pack tax increase would ultimately put a third of the nation's 62,p00 tobacco -farmers out of work and cost 27,0W farm laborers their jobs. And those selling farm equipment fear a regional recession. MARJORIE LANGSTON /'FARM EQ'UIPMENT'DEAIiER: Tobacco is our main, income in, this county and surrounding areas. If the tax is put on at $1~ or $2 per pack, it will be a disaster through here. WALTER' RODGERS: Even though demand is down, tobacco remains the most profitable crop in the country per acre. Farmers say they can!t switch crops without a drastic loss of income. BETTY VOLLMER / TOBACCO FARMER: An acre of tobacco you would have a gross income of about $5,000. On an acre of wheat you would have a gross income of about $200. WALTER RODGERS: Because of the price, you can make a good living on 75 acres of tobaceo, the average -size farm in North Carolina. But it takes 1,0001acres to make a comparable living,groviring grain crops, and farms that size don't exist in tobacco country. The few growers who have switched to other crops often find farmers in other parts of the country have the fruit and vegetable markets locked up. JOHN VOLLMER: Through efforts to diversify Ii realize how much time it takes to learn how to do these things. I'm a good tobacco grower and I'm a very poor vegetable grower. WALTER RODGERS: Many families have beenigrowing tobacco on these farms since the Civil War, and these farmers fear any increase in the cigarette tax would likely render their skills irrelevant and their family farms obsolete. Walter Rodgers, ABC News, Bunn, North Carol'ina.. PETER JENNINGS: There is another view of a cigarette tax. First of all, it is designedi to do more than pay for health care reform. The idea is also to save health care dollars by discouraging people from smoking. And smoking costs the rest of us a lot of money. We asked ABC's Beth Nissen how much. BETH NISSEN: Christian Frye smoked'two packs of cigarettes a day for 48 years. She has chronic emphysema. She wants cigarettes taxed, even banned, and has no sympathy for what that, might db to tobacco farmers. CHRISTIAN FRYE: They should not grow tobacco to kill peopib just for money. BETH NISSEN: In terms of money, tobacco -related! illnesses run up health care costs of $21 billion a year. NURSE: How are you feeling?

CHRISTIAN FRYE: Short of breathL - BETH NISSEN: This year alone Christian's hospital bills total alhnost half a million dollars. According to the government's Office of Tec hnology Assessment,, smoking-related cancers, lung,and heart diseases cost American businesses ann additional $47 billion & year in lost worker productivity and'.lost workers. Smoking kills 475,000 Ameri+cans a year. - DR. JOHh1'LYNCHI AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Tobacco use is the singlee most preventable cause of premature death in this country. BETHi NISSENt And Americans pay to prevent more deaths. This public-serviice ad is part~ of a $135 ~ million federal anti-smoking campaign. Yet what most Americans do not know is that they also.pay for the ads that promote smoking. One billion dollars &year in cigarette advertising is tax dedinctible. SEN. TOM HARKIN'/ [D] IOWA: We subsidize the advertising of tobacco, a productt that kills people. BETH NI'SSEN: A $2-a-pack cigarette tax would bring in as muchias $100 billion in five years and save hundreds of billions more in future costs. Inistates that have raised taxes; which raises the price per pack, tobacco use has fall6n, especiallly among the young. Public health officials say the ultimate saving couid!be as many as two million lives and incalculable suffering. Beth Nissen, ABC News, Washington. PETER JENNINGS: One other item about smoking and health. A judge in Mississippi' has ruled for the first time that cigarettes are~so dan.gerous that manufacturers cannot escape liability even if smokers know the rn'sks. As the ruling comes from a statie!judgp, however, other courts around the country are not obliged to folliow suit.