A message from Kathleen Blanco

[AnnInLa]

from an email I just rec'd:

A Message from
Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
State Capitol
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
May 24, 2005

Dear Friend:

Big tobacco is on the attack in Louisiana. They are fighting my
proposal to raise taxes on cigarettes by a dollar a pack. They are
pulling out all the stops to keep cigarette prices low so that our
kids keep getting hooked.

If you agree with me that raising cigarette prices will reduce youth
smoking and help our teachers, I need your strong, vocal support.
Please contact your state representative and state senator (House:
225-342-6945; Senate: 225-342-2040) and ask them to support my plan.

According the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, if my proposal for a $1-
per-pack increase passes:

64,300 kids who are alive today will not become smokers.
38,800 current adult smokers in the state will quit smoking.
10,200 current adult smokers will be saved from smoking-caused death.
20,500 kids alive today will be saved from later premature smoking-
caused death.
The five-year health care savings from fewer smoking-affected
pregnancies and births will be $9.5 million.
The five-year health care savings from fewer smoking-caused heart
attacks and strokes will be $19.3 million.
The long-term health care savings in Louisiana from adult and youth
smoking declines will be $1.36 billion.
Revenue from this tax will allow us to increase teacher pay in
Louisiana by at least $3,300 over the next two years. I think you
will agree with me that our hard-working teachers have earned a pay
raise.

Education Week has ranked Louisiana first in the nation for our
efforts to improve teacher quality. We are also second for our
efforts to improve student achievement.

The last round of school performance scores shows far more schools
are improving and far fewer failing. Recently, we saw more evidence
of our outstanding progress. Louisiana's public school 4th graders
improved significantly on the high-stakes LEAP exam, only a year
after we raised the standard for promotion to the next grade. And our
10th graders scored higher than ever on the pre-ACT college entrance
test.

Our teachers are producing results for our children and we need to
produce for them. More important, we need to maintain the momentum we
have and keep these dedicated professionals in our schools.

Increasing the cigarette tax will not only fund much-needed raises
for our educators; it will reduce smoking in Louisiana -- most
significantly among our youth. Study after study after study
demonstrates that higher cigarette costs discourage children from
taking up the habit, and they help persuade adults to drop the habit.

Considering Louisiana's dire health problems – and their escalating
costs – those are goals worthwhile. Every year, Louisiana spends more
than $1.3 billion on health problems caused by smoking. And the cost
of our overall economy is estimated at 2.8 billion dollars in lost
wages and lost productivity.

We cannot afford to continue risking the health of our children. Nor
can we afford to risk losing our great educational gains by losing
our best teachers to states like Texas who are offering them more
money.

I need your help now more than ever. Big Tobacco has been hard at
work to shift the message away from public health in order to protect
their profits. I believe that out of state tobacco interests are
going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to intimidate
our legislators and misinform our citizens because they know my plan
will cut into their profits.

Raising the cigarette tax is the legislative priority of the American
Cancer Society and is key to my legislative agenda for a better
Louisiana. Please call your representative and senator TODAY to ask
for their support in raising our cigarette tax by $1. . A personal
phone call to your legislator can make the difference in protecting
the health of our children and the future of our state.

We all know that Big Tobacco will spend – and do -- whatever it takes
to protect THEIR bottom line, no matter what it costs our children. I
am counting on you to help spread the public health message about the
benefits of increasing the tax.

Again, thank you for your commitment to eliminating cancer and
improving the quality of life for all Louisianans.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Blanco

[finecraft]

1. I have a real problem with this

Where did the last tobacco tax increase go? Let's see.....some went to Cancer research, but the bulk went to State Trooper pay raises, increased pay for state park personnel and support for collegiate athletic clubs. Where did the tobacco lawsuit settlement funds go....let's see....road improvements and to fill the budget hole for general expenses and some in the "rainy day" trust fund. If she is truly committed to stopping Louisiana citizens from smoking, she should fund anti-smoking educational programs in each and every school, and provide smokers with free medical assistance to end their smoking habit (free nicorette and the like). If she REALLY wanted to make Louisiana citizens healthier, she would raise the hell out of Liquor taxes, since Louisiana has one of the highest alcohol addiction rates in the nation.

Everyone has to have a vested interest in seeing our schools succeed, and as long as you target one group of people to pay for any improvements (smokers, drinkers, gamblers, prostitutes. etc.), people won't care a flip about school quality. They will accept anything....as long as other people pay for it. When the money comes out of their pockets, then they start questioning what they are getting in return for their money. The quality of public schools should be everyone's concern, and I really feel that everyone should pay their share....not pawn their portion off onto someone else.