State’s smoking quit line inundated after tobacco tax increase

The day after a new federal tax increased the cost of a pack of cigarettes by 62 cents, the Ohio quit-smoking hotline saw more than four times it regular volume of calls (Source: “Ohio stop-smoking 800-QUIT-NOW line overwhelmed as tobacco tax rises,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 5, 2009).

Last Wednesday more than 600 Ohioans called 1-800-QUIT-NOW, with most identifying cost as their
main motivation to give up smoking.

"It's the tax," said Linda Bailey, who heads the nonprofit North American Quitline Consortium. "The economy is so bad, people are really thinking about what they're spending their money on. They don't have any extra. They've hit a breaking point."