Few laws are so effective that you can see results just days after they were passed.but in the nine days since the federal cigarette tax(税)doubled-to $1.01 per pack-smokers have jammed telephone “quit lines” across the country trying to kick(改掉)the habit.
This is not a surprise to public health advocates(倡导者).They’ve studied the effect of state tax increases for years, finding that smokers, especially teens, are price sensitive(敏感的).Nor is it a shock to the industry, which fiercely fights every tax increase.
The only wonder is that so many states still close their ears to the message.Tobacco taxes improve public health, they raise money and most particularly, they deter people from taking up the habit as teens, which is when nearly all smokers are addicted.Yet the rate of taxation varies widely.
In Manhattan, for instance, which has the highest tax in the nation, a pack of Marlboro Light Kings cost $10.06 at one drugstore Wednesday.Charleston, S,
C#, where the 7-cent-a-pack tax is the lowest in the nation.The price was $4.78.
The influence is obvious.
In New York, high school smoking hit a new low in the latest surveys-13.8%, far below the national average.By comparison, 26% of high school students smoke in Kentucky, Other low-tax states have similarly depressing(令人沮丧的teen-smoking records.
Hal Rogers, Representative from Kentucky, like those who are against high tobacco taxes, argues that the burden(负担)of the tax falls on low-income Americans “who choose to smoke.”
That's true, But there is more reason in keeping future generations of low-income workers from getting addicted in the first place, As for today's adults, if the new tax drives them to quit, they will have more to spend on their families, cut their risk of cancer and heart disease and feel better.
(1)
The text is mainly about ________.
[ ]
A.
the price of cigarettes
B.
tie rate of teen smoking
C.
the offect of tobacco tax increase
D.
the differences in tobacco tax rate
(2)
What does the author think is a surprise?
[ ]
A.
Teen smokers are price sensitive
B.
Some states still keep the tobacco tax low
C.
Tobacco taxes improve public health
D.
Tobacco industry fiercely fights the tax rise
(3)
The underlined word "deter" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ________.
[ ]
A.
discourage
B.
remove
C.
benefit
D.
free
(4)
Rogers' attitude towards the low-income smokers might be that of ________.