Staff | Statesman.com

State legislators have been fretting about whether to raise the tobacco tax for the first time since 2002. "Can't raise taxes; wouldn't be right!" some say.

Tell that to the pregnant woman dragging deep on a cigarette because she never has learned what nicotine does to her unborn child. Or to the middle-school student experimenting with a flavored cigarette. Or to an adult who'd like to quit but can't recall how to contact the state's free help line.

Oregon used to have a great tobacco education and prevention program to reach all these folks and more. It could have such a program again. And it could lower smoking rates and raise revenue, all by raising the cost of a pack of cigarettes. That's smart policy all around.

Whatever the fate of House Bill 2201 -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski's sweeping effort to insure most Oregon kids -- the 84.5-cent-per-pack tobacco-tax increase tied to it deserves passage this session.

The state has a clear interest in making it hard for people to take up smoking and easy for them to quit. Lower-income Oregonians smoke in greater numbers than the general population, and they suffer disproportionately from diseases caused by smoking. Getting them to quit or cut back will improve their lives and save taxpayers money.

What's more, tobacco companies have our kids in their marketing sights. Oregon needs to fight back on all fronts.

Raising the price of a pack of cigarettes is the first step -- the hefty increase will price many youngsters out of the market. No legislator should have a moment's twinge of conscience for this "tax increase."

Reviving the state's tobacco education program -- looted during lean budget years -- must follow. Tobacco companies have the bucks to target our young people with sophisticated marketing. The state has been doing the job on a shoestring. If that were enough, we wouldn't see 20 young Oregonians take up smoking each day.

This isn't about Republicans and Democrats. It's not about no-new-taxes. It's about health, especially the health of young people.

It's about keeping today's teens and pre-teens from dying prematurely from smoking-caused illnesses. It's about seeing that people across the state get anti-smoking support. It's about fewer low-birthweight babies, fewer children with asthma, and more years to enjoy one's kids and grandkids.

Legislators: This makes sense; make it happen.