Up in smoke

By Sarah Arnquist

Taxing cigarettes is the single-most effective way to lower smoking rates, particularly among youth. And if we could lower smoking rates, we'd save hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars each year.

Good Magazine demonstrates this strong correlation on a state-by-state basis in a fantastic interactive graphic. Go check it out.

In a related matter, I heard Matt Myers, president of Tobacco Free Kids, recently predict a federal cigarette tax increase to fund SCHIP. He said there's strong bipartisan support, particularly to fund an expansion of children's health coverage.