Do we roll over?

What is happening on Capitol Hill in relation to the cigarette tax issue is really embarrassing. The attitude toward cigarette taxes in a poll last year was clear. 84 % percent thought that we really ought to raise the tax. Jacking it up the amount of tax to three dollars a pack this year, the approval only dropped 7 percent. Above food tax, and toll roads the majority want there to be taxes imposed on cigarettes. On Capitol Hill there are no ding, ding, dings as to the need for raising cigarette taxes, only ding-a-lings.

A good lobbyist with a lot of clout on Capitol Hill can make half a million dollars. There are respectable former legislatures that Phillip Morris has hired to fight against this tax. Anything that might happen is being thwarted by these powerhouses on Capitol Hill. Our problem is that we are so in awe of these former state legislatures that we will roll over and do what they want.

Senator Jay Seegmiller joined the show from Capitol Hill. He is currently lobbying for a bill that would prohibit smoking in the car with children. He has talked to hundred of citizen about this bill and only a handful of people have disagreed with him. The one point that he made about the tobacco lobbying is that citizen lobbying can be just as effective. We need to take initiative to support raising the cigarette tax. He pointed out that many of the legislators may not have ever taken a look at these polls and only paid attention to their emails and phone calls.

Utah is 34^th in the nation as to the amount of tax on cigarette. Why in the world are our legislatures so willing to listen when we are already so low? 87% on the website poll agreed with Doug on this issue.

Caller George has been smoking for 18 years and feels that we should raise the taxes on cigarettes.

Caller Kurt felt that Doug was saying exactly what needed to be said. Smoking is a tremendous health cost to our system. Doug recounted representatives of the tobacco industry told the Sweden government that the tobacco industry was saving the government money by killing people off sooner. Kurt recommended that we call our representatives and let them know, the issue is still on the fire.