Disease Prevention and Control

What are your thoughts about the current approaches to disease prevention and control? In what ways do you think they support the nation’s public health agenda? REPLY TO MY CLASSMATE’S RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU AGREE? (A MINIMUM OF 150 WORDS or MORE EACH QUESTION) The research is public and increases in tobacco taxes decrease tobacco use. Raising taxes on tobacco and thereby increasing its price is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use.

Prices affect virtually all measures of cigarette use, including per-capita consumption, smoking rates, and the number of cigarettes smoked daily. These effects apply across a wide range of racial and socioeconomic groups. Smoking-related illnesses remain the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, with more than 540,000 deaths annually, and cost the country more than $300 billion each year, including $170 billion for direct medical care for adults and more than $156 billion in lost productivity. Yet the federal tax on cigarettes has not increased since 2009, when the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act raised the tax to $1.01 per pack. State taxes per cigarette pack average $1.78, with rates ranging from 17 cents in Missouri to $4.50 in Washington, D.C.

On the federal level, revenue from cigarette and tobacco taxes helps fund programs that support children and adults across the country, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CHIP provides health insurance to many children in the U.S. In 2019, revenues from tobacco tax amounted to 12.46 billion U.S. dollars. The forecast predicts a decrease in tobacco tax revenues down to 11.55 billion U.S. dollars in 2025. Total U.S. government revenue in 2018 was 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars. This is not even close to the monies funded which in taxes are levied. No tax increase since 2009. After reading these statements and statistics, I want to know where the excess of 3.5 trillion bucks went. References: https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/tobacco-prevention-efforts/importance-tobacco-taxes, https://www.statista.com/statistics/248964/revenues-from-tobacco-tax-and-forecast-in-the-us/.