Health experts want to eliminate tobacco use within 40 years.
If people don't buy cigarettes, that means less revenue for the state and federal governments. Dr. Michael Fiore, Director of the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention , says that's not a problem. He says when people give up their smokes, the high cost of tobacco-related health care will disappear, as will the high cost of lost productivity.
"Nationwide, more than $200-billion is spent every year in additional medical costs and lost productivity costs from smoking. In our own state it's now approaching $3-billion a year."
Fiore says the cost of treating people who are addiction to tobacco far exceeds the tax-revenue generated from the tobacco tax.
This week President Obama signed a bill to grant the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco, which Fiore calls an historic move.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report (:53 MP3)
