Teen Smoking Hits All-Time Low in Wisconsin
Good news, but is it a pyrrhic victory for future state budgets?
Wisconsin health officials say smoking by middle and high school students has dropped to an all-time low.
The 2012 Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey, released Monday, found that 13% of high schoolers say they smoke and 2.5% of middle schoolers admit to smoking. The last study in 2010 showed nearly 18% of high schooner and nearly 4% of middle schooler smoked.
The survey is done by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
The 2012 figures contrast sharply with 2000, when 33% of high school students and 12% of middle school students said they smoked.
Admittedly, it’s a survey, so you could have some lying going on.
The reason I bring up future state budgets, keep in mind, the former Doyle budgets — especially the 2009–2011 state budget — were built on massive tax increases on tobacco sales.
If those are going to be limited in the near-future, I got to admit, whatever white paper the Legislative Fiscal Bureau is going to issue in the coming months on that revenue source will be an interesting one to read.
