ASK JACKSON

The Southeast Missourian asked, "What do you think of President Clinton's proposal that cigarette companies raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by up to $1.50 over 10 years, if teen smoking remains high?"

Jeff Brown: "If kids are going to smoke, they will smoke no matter what the price of cigarettes is. You could raise it to $5 a pack and they are still going to buy them."

Leslie Hanschen: "I think it's a great idea. Kids don't always have that much money, so they might not smoke as much. Some kids might not start smoking if they knew it would cost a lot more."

Jyothi Dirnberger: "I think it would decrease the numbers of teens smoking, because a lot of teens don't have a lot of money. Some would really think about it before starting if they figured what it would cost."

Stephen Hendrix: "I think it would be best for the younger generation. It would help deter some from starting to smoke. As for me, it would probably cause me to smoke less or possibly quit smoking again."

Linda Hess: "I have no problem with trying to control what the young kids do, but I believe that alcohol is as big a problem as the smoking issue. I think we should tax both the tobacco and alcohol industries equally."