Enzi said he supports what the legislation is trying to achieve, getting people to quit smoking and stopping kids from starting, but he does not think this bill, in its ever-changing form, is the way to accomplish these worthy goals. Similar bills in past years directed money raised from such a tax toward health needs, health needs in Wyoming. That's not the case with this bill. Taxpayer money raised from this bill would be used for, among countless other things, a program to develop awareness in other countries of the dangers of smoking. Enzi is a strong advocate of eliminating youth smoking, but his visits to Wyoming schools, studies he has read and other sources indicate the bill's mechanisms for achieving this goal may fall well short of the mark.
Kids know how to get what they want.
Estimates vary, but as many as 3,000 youths per day light up their first cigarette and the problem continues to grow past our junior high and high schools. This 1998 figure is the highest percent in the last 30 years, despite higher cigarette prices, stricter rules governing where people can smoke and greater awareness of the dangers. Enzi said another major flaw in the bill is its dependence on estimates and the overhanging irony of the legislation. With this bill we're spending money before we have it. Everything is based on estimates.