State Sen. Rosalind Kurita, D-Clarksville, successfully added 2 cents to the tax on cigarettes and promised that it would raise $10 million for trauma centers across the state. By my calculations, it would take the sale of 500 million packs to raise that $10 million dollars. According to the Tennessee Dept. of Health, approximately 26%, or 1.5 million, Tennesseans smoke. Those 1.5 million smokers need to consume just over 333 packs each to reach Sen. Kurita’s numbers.
When I started this, I thought 500 million packs was unrealistic. But, it appears we really are sucking down enough carcinogens to raise the money. Who would have thought it?
