Morris News Service
ATLANTA --- The prescription for a gaping budget deficit and for the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths is the same, according to more than 45 doctors wearing their white coats at the Capitol Thursday: hike the tobacco tax.
The physicians from around Georgia roamed the halls of the state Capitol lobbying legislators to pass House Bill 39, which would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.
"Today, we're here to talk about what we know as healthcare providers and the devastating health care implications as a result of tobacco use," said Dr. Matt Mumber, the president of the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology and who practices in Rome, Ga. "We can save lives by reducing smoking."
The measure is awaiting a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee. Its sponsor, Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, told the doctors he is gaining optimism about its chances.
"The momentum is there," he said. "It's moving."
The higher tax would discourage teenagers from smoking and developing what is often a life-long and deadly habit, said Dr. Jacqueline Fincher of Thomson, who is vice president of the Georgia chapter of the American College of Physicians. More than 180,000 Georgia children will grow up to die of cancer, she said, noting that 8.5 percent of all middle-school students here say they already smoke.
"The reality is that most smokers started as teenagers. Ask them," she said. "We know that increasing the tobacco tax directly helps to prevent and decrease smoking in all age groups, but especially teenagers."
Research shows that a 10-percent rise in the price of cigarettes leads to a 5 percent drop in consumption, according to Dr. Howard McMahan of Ocilla, the president of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians.
"I've spent the last 25 years in a small town trying to have a positive impact on lives and the health of the people that come to see me, my neighbors, my friends, those that call themselves my patients," he said.
"One of the biggest barriers I have faced is dealing with tobacco cessation. It is something that I see, not just at arm's length, but every day, up close and on a personal basis."
Most Republicans in the General Assembly oppose increasing taxes on cigarettes or any other product, according to House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island.
Dr. McMahan said he's not dissuaded.
"My passion is this is a patient-centered agenda," he said. "We need to advocate for our patients, and this is a great way to do so."
