Illinois tax increase likely to make some quit smoking

CHICAGO -- Smokers will light up less after a 40-cent tax increase takes effect in July, saving about 26,300 lives, state health officials predict.

The tax hike will lead to a decrease in teen-age smoking, heart attacks, cancer and respiratory diseases, experts said.

"We just think it's wonderful," said Dr. John Lumpkin, Illinois' public health director. "As the price goes up, it makes it easier for someone to decide to quit."

Earlier this month Gov. George Ryan signed into law the bill that pushes the state cigarette tax to 98 cents a pack on July 1. Officials said the tax boost would raise $230 million toward plugging the state's budget deficit.

Under the new law, a pack-a-day smoker would pay $358 in state taxes annually, a $146 increase. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in Illinois is about $4.

Deleep Komeru, 28, of Chicago, said the increased cost will not affect his pack-a-day habit.

"I've been thinking about quitting for two years, but I don't expect to quit soon," Komeru said. "I definitely think about the money that I spend on cigarettes, but I can't say how I'd spend it if I didn't smoke."

While on a smoke break in downtown Chicago, Stephanie Drew said she may be among those who stop because of the tax increase. But she acknowledged that it will be difficult.

"I'll have to stop smoking at some time," she said. "Maybe this will help speed that up." Drew, 25, said she smokes three to four packs a week. "It's not really fair to target the smokers, they should just increase taxes across the board to raise money."

The largest drop in cigarette use is expected to be among young smokers. Seven percent of Illinois teen-agers -- about 50,000 -- will not smoke because of the increase, Dr. Lumpkin said.

"Teen-agers are the ones who are most sensitive to changes in price," he said. "They have the least amount of disposable income."

Other health benefits from the tax increase will be fewer infants with low birth weight and fewer asthma attacks because of secondhand smoke, said Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco.

The governor originally proposed a cigarette tax increase of 50 cents, but the General Assembly reduced it to 40 cents, said Ryan spokesman Matt Vanover.

Lawmakers used a cigarette consumption formula found in several studies to determine the increase. According to the studies, a 10 percent increase in price results in a four percent decline in consumption, said Frank Chaloupka, a University of Illinois Chicago economics professor who researches cigarette use.

Legislators also calculated that some Illinois residents would switch to buying cigarettes on the Internet or in border states, said Ryan's deputy budget director, Mike Colsch.

Lawmakers agreed to the 40-cent tax increase on the assumption that there would be a 10 percent decline in the number of cigarette tax stamps sold in Illinois, partly because of decreased consumption, Colsch said.

Anti-smoking advocates say they consider the tax increase a success, but not because it will help ease the tight budget.

"We tend to look at it as more of a public health issue than a financial issue," said Kathy Drea, spokeswoman for the American Lung Association. "We know that it will save thousands and thousands of children from a lifetime of addiction, sickness and disease."