Cancer Commentary - Caring About Cancer

Smokers May Pay for New Cancer Center in Hawaii

by Jane Chin, Ph.D. on May 24th, 2006

A new cigarette tax is being proposed and awaiting signature from Hawaii’s governor. This tax will be valid for 6 years. Hawaiian smokers can expect to pay 20 cents each pack each year.

About 1/3 of the tax will go to build a new cancer research center for University of Hawaii in Kakaako, 1/4 will go to trauma systems special fund, the rest to emergency medical services and community health centers.

The rest of the story talks about the need to build the cancer center and plans to lease space.

I feel ambivalent about this. On the one hand I can see the rationale for imposing a “sin tax” as some would call it, given the general statistics of smokers’ health issues and we may say that it would make sense for them to pay more for cigarettes so some of the monies would go to build a cancer center.

But where does it stop? Should we start charging “junk food tax” to counter obesity and all the related risks that obesity brings (see previous entry on breast cancer and obesity)? Would it also be a good idea to use some of that cigarette tax funding to fund preventive programs or programs that help citizens stop smoking?

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