Bills could limit tobacco flavors, usage in prison

Two anti-smoking proposals in the N.C. Senate target tobacco use among youths and inmates.

One bill would ban the sale of all flavored cigarettes, with the exception of menthols. The other would prohibit smoking and the possession of tobacco products in prisons.

Sen. Charles Albertson, D-Duplin, the primary sponsor of both bills, said the state should ban tobacco in prisons because it affects inmates’ health and makes them run up high medical bills.

The state spends millions of dollars on health care for inmates, and much of that money goes toward treating medical conditions caused by tobacco use, Albertson said.

“(A tobacco ban) would be a benefit for inmates and a benefit for the taxpayers,” he said.

Inmates will not be forced to quit smoking without any assistance, Albertson said.

“We will provide them with means to kick the habit,” he said. “It will make their lives easier.”

Albertson’s other bill would prohibit the sale of cigarettes with flavors ranging from chocolate to cinnamon and strawberry. The ban would help discourage youths from taking up smoking, he said. “A lot of young people use these cigarettes.”

Menthol cigarettes, which target an older audience, would be excluded from the ban.

But some pro-tobacco legislators are critical of the effectiveness of this legislation.

“This is an unrealistic effort,” said Sen. Hugh Webster, R-Alamance. “I can’t imagine that banning these tobacco products would stop children from buying them.”

These proposals are but two attempts by the state to crack down on smoking. Other proposals in this session of the General Assembly include banning smoking in stadiums and increasing the cigarette tax from 5 cents per pack to 50 cents or even as much as 80 cents.

Albertson said he also would support raising the state cigarette tax moderately but said Gov. Mike Easley’s proposal to raise it to 50 cents in two years is too excessive.

Even moderate tax increases have drawn complaints from Republican senators.

“I’m pretty tired of using tobacco as a whipping child,” Webster said.

But Melva Okun, coordinator of Quit Now N.C., a program aimed at decreasing smoking, said the efforts to cut down on tobacco use are a positive step even though more needs to be done.

“I am supportive of laws such as they have in other states that make all work sites smoke-free,” she said. These sites include restaurants, construction sites, offices and anywhere else people are employed.

Okun also said she supports a recent proposal by Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, to raise the 5-cent state cigarette tax, a national low, to a total of 80 cents.

North Carolina’s strong history in tobacco farming has made some hesitant to adopt the national trend of increasing tobacco regulation.

“I think tobacco is just a scapegoat right now,” said Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, whose district includes a number of tobacco farmers.

“We’ve got to make people aware of the dangers, but we’ve got to be careful not to harm jobs.”

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.