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OUDAILY
For 100 years, the student voice of the University of Oklahoma
BLOWING
SMOKE? SIANDHARA BONNET/THE DAILY
Musicology graduate student Danur Kvilhaug smokes Sunday on Campus Corner. Gov. Mary Fallin believes that a newly-imposed tax on cigarettes will help improve Oklahoma’s overall health.
Cigarette tax proposal meets mixed response
SMOKING IN OKLAHOMA by the numbers
4.9
percent: Oklahoma is 4.9 percent above the national average of adults who smoke
26.1
percent of adults in Oklahoma smoke
$181.6 million: the amount of revenue the tax is expected to bring in for the state
$2.53
would be the cost of the new tax per pack, up from $1.03 per pack. Source: 2011 Center for Disease Control reports and Gov. Mary Fallin’s “State of the State” address
A
TANNER OSBORNE • @TANNEROSBEAR
plan to fix Oklahoma’s gaping budget hole by more than doubling the tax on a pack of cigarettes may still leave students paying more to finance education if they do not change their smoking habits. Governor Mary Fallin said in her “State of the State” address on Feb. 1 that in addition to raising $181.6 million dollars in revenue, the cigarette tax is also “the most important thing we can do to improve Oklahoma’s overall health ranking.” Vija Mani, a graduate student and industrial systems engineering major, said the tax increase would not stop him from buying cigarettes. “No, they’re already too expensive. That won’t stop me from buying cigarettes,” Mani said. Local resident Gunner Simmons agrees the tax increase would not stop him from buying cigarettes, but he thinks it’s a good policy. Simmons said low prices and availability are part of the reason he started smoking. “Yeah, it keeps kids from smoking cigarettes. If they’re easy to get, then kids can get them,” Simmons said. Economics professor Gary Hoover said some studies have shown that a tax increase on cigarettes can have a marginal effect on the percentage of smokers in an area, particularly younger
people, but also said cigarette tax hikes will not do much to discourage older individuals who are already smoking regularly. In a CDC survey from 2011, Oklahoma ranked 48th in adult smokers, with about 26.1 percent of people 18 and older smoking. With OU facing a $20 million budget deficit crisis as a result of Oklahoma dealing with its budget deficit, plans of all varieties and origins have been proposed.
“The cigarettes won’t do it, the penny tax won’t do it. Put them together, it’ll help, but we need to avoid the problem in the first place.” GARY HOOVER, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR
For his part, OU President David Boren has proposed a 1 cent increase on all Oklahoma sales tax, a measure now commonly referred to as the “penny tax.” The campaign has met heavy resistance from groups like OCPA Impact, which is steadfastly opposed to the increase on the sales tax. Fallin has proposed her own solutions to address the state
budget crisis, one aspect of which would increase the current tax on cigarettes from $1.03 to $2.53 per pack. Boren agreed the cigarette tax could be a good health policy but does not believe it will solve the education budget crisis. “While the cigarette tax could be good health policy and it could encourage people to stop smoking, the money generated would not be used to help fund health needs,” Boren said in a statement. “It is certainly no solution to the education crisis in Oklahoma. It is only a drop in the bucket in terms of revenue which is needed, and there are no increased funds for higher education to help freeze tuition increases.” Boren is in support of initiatives that help promote a healthier lifestyle, which, he said, is one of the reasons he supported and recommended OU be a tobacco-free campus. “In 2012, I recommended that the OU Board of Regents pass an agenda item to make the OU Norman Campus a tobacco-free campus in alignment with the governor’s executive order to ban the use of tobacco on all state property. This was not only to harmonize the policies of the university, but to help promote a healthy lifestyle for all in our community,” Boren said. Hoover said the cigarette tax and Boren’s proposed sales tax
can both be regressive in nature. This means sales taxes can often disproportionately affect the poorer classes, as any increase in price on necessities like food will be harder for those with less money. At the same time, Hoover said an increase in cigarette prices will also disproportionately affect the poorer class, who statistically smoke more and who would financially would feel the burden of a price jump more. “People who are lower-income tend to smoke more, but the difference between cigarettes and food is that people have to eat — they don’t have to smoke,” Hoover said. Hoover said the cigarette tax can be excellent source of revenue, and because Oklahoma is not a large tobacco producing state, it is a good policy for the state. Overall, Hoover said neither the sales tax nor the cigarette tax would likely be enough to solve the state or education budget crisis alone. “The cigarettes won’t do it, the penny tax won’t do it. Put them together, it’ll help, but we need to avoid the problem in the first place. That way we don’t have to look on the backside for these fixes,” Hoover said. Tanner Osborne
tannerosborne84@yahoo.com
OU, Cherokee Nation collaborate on research Partnership will look at effects of tribal tobacco EMMA KEITH @shakeitha_97
An upcoming collaboration between the OU Health Sciences Center and Cherokee Nation will provide a look at tribal tobacco use and resulting cancer rates. Stephenson Cancer Center and the HSC will partner with the Cherokee Nation in training American Indian students to investigate tribal health issues. The National Institute of Health has provided two four-year grants totaling $1.5 million to fund the research, training and education program for American Indian students, according to a press release. The program addresses the alarming rates of cancer disparity
affecting the Cherokee Nation, as well as these rates’ overwhelming relationship to continued tribal tobacco usage. The collaboration will equip American Indian students and investigators to address these cancer rates and their ties to nicotine addiction, cigarette and e-cigarette usage and exposure to tobacco-related toxins, according to the release. Though not the first HSC and Cherokee Nation collaboration, this project is still an important partnership for both parties. Sohail Khan, Cherokee Nation’s director of health research, said the project will unite the participants in acknowledging and reducing Cherokee health disparities while improving Cherokee quality of life. The training, education and research program is a product of Khan, Paul Spicer, an OU
professor in the Department of Anthropology, and Dr. Mark D o e s c h e r, C a n c e r H e a l t h Disparities program leader at the Stephenson Cancer Center, according to the release. Spicer said the collaboration is expected to begin this month. He said two OU Native American studies interns will be joining the program immediately to assist with the research. The Cherokee Nation greatly anticipates the project and its tribal benefits, Khan said. He said the collaboration offers the Cherokee Nation opportunities to develop in-house research capabilities that will fill ongoing tribal needs while opening educational opportunities to Cherokee students and researchers. The Cherokee Nation and the OU HSC have previously partnered to investigate diabetes,
healthy living and rheumatic diseases within the tribe, Khan said. This collaboration is the latest addition to an established and trusted relationship and will examine a priority research issue within the Cherokee Nation, he said. Dr. Ashley Comiford, Cherokee Nation tribal member and epidemiologist, and Dr. Dorothy Rhoades, Kiowa tribal memb e r a n d f a c u l t y m e mb e r at Stephenson Cancer Center, will lead the research, according to the release. The tribe already has anti-tobacco resources and epidemiology in place, as well as the Cherokee Nation Comprehensive Cancer Control Project to provide resources and solutions for current tribal health issues. This collaboration will provide a tribally-centered and sustainable infrastructure
and the research capacity to build on these pre-existing tribal health initiatives, according to the release. Emma Keith
Emma.C.Keith-1@ou.edu
QUICK FACTS • Who: OU Health Sciences Center and the Cherokee nation • What: $1.5 million in grants to fund research on tribal tobacco use and cancer rates Source: Press release