Editorial Praises Proposition 99’s Effect on Smoking Rate

"In 1988, voters passed Proposition 99, which increased the tobacco tax," and more than "$1 billion has been spent since then on an aggressive anti-smoking campaign," a San Jose Mercury News editorial states. The Mercury News writes, "The adult smoking rate went from 22.7% in 1988 to 13.1% today," and California has saved "an astounding $86 billion in health care costs." The editorial concludes, "[I]magine the savings a serious obesity prevention campaign could produce."

• "Smoking Statistics Prove Value of Proposition 99" (San Jose Mercury News, 12/22).