Yes on 50
A workable way to fund
Oregon Health Plan
The increased tobacco tax stipulated by Measure 50 won’t cure
all what ails Oregon’s health system, but it will provide some
funding for health care, as well as educate people about the
dangers of smoking.
A yes vote on the measure in the Nov. 6 election will
increase the tax on tobacco products sold in Oregon, including
cigarettes by 84.5 cents a pack. Some of the estimated $152
million expected to be raised through 2009 will go toward
funding “tobacco prevention programs, safety net clinics, rural
health care and health care for Oregon’s lowest income families
and individuals through the Oregon Health Plan.”
We’re keen on the prevention idea. Studies reportedly have
shown that every dollar invested on prevention saves the state
$3 in tobacco-related health care costs. That’s a good rate of
return — if for any other reason that a healthier work force can
reduce costs to employers.
Some argue that the expanded health care provided under
Measure 50 is simply another handout to those who spend their
time bucking the system. There will be some who take advantage
of Measure 50’s money, just as some abuse food stamps — and
private parking lots, for that matter. The chances of
eliminating those people are about as good as the chances of
stopping computer hackers.
Others claim Measure 50 is a bad idea because it changes the
state’s Constitution. Perhaps they’re looking at it wrong
—change can be a good thing. Besides, those who argue that the
Constitution shouldn’t be changed are akin with lobbyists for,
say, the Oregon Department of Transportation. They argue that
much of ODOT’s funding is dedicated and can’t be messed with.
“The law won’t allow it,” they claim. Well then, let’s change
the law.
We don’t disagree that Measure 50’s tax is discriminatory, in
that it targets a select segment of the population. Well, the
same argument could apply to taxes on gasoline, a product which
not everyone is forced to buy. Bottom line is this: We hope the
experts are right when they say making tobacco more expensive
will help more smokers quit.
Passing Measure 50 won’t be easy. The powerful tobacco
industry is spending millions of dollars on the fight against
the measure. The industry spends billions promoting a product
the makers — and virtually all consumers — know to be unhealthy
and potentially fatal.
The tobacco industry has been blowing smoke onto society for
decades. A yes on Measure 50 would serve as a sort of reversal
of the second-hand smoke effect.
