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Commissioner Carey said he is a member of the BOH, but he was not there when they adopted this resolution. He said that there is going to be a similar type of resolution coming from the school boards asking for the money to be spent on education and one from the Mental Health Association recommending that the revenue be spent to support mental health reform. He thinks we should be specific about where the funds should go because there are going to be competing demands. Commissioner Halkiatis said that the Board is in agreement that this needs to happen. He does not believe the legislature has the guts to do this. He would like to send this to the local legislative subcommittee. Commissioner Jacobs withdrew his motion until this item could be referred and brought back. Commissioner Carey did not withdraw his second. The motion was back on the floor. The changes are as follows: The last "whereas" is changed to eliminate the $573 million and the "Now, Therefore..." is rewritten as follows: "Now, Therefore, Be it Resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners supports an increase in the cigarette tax in North Carolina to be used primarily for health programs and for reducing and preventing tobacco use." The corrected resolution is as follows: RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF AN INCREASE IN NORTH CAROLINA°S TAX ON CIGARETTES March 2003 WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners joins the Orange County Board of Health in carrying out the responsibility of protecting and promoting the health of the people of Orange County; and WHEREAS, a goal of Healthy People 2090 is to "reduce illness, disability, and death related to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke"; and WHEREAS, death rates from heart disease and cancer, the leading causes of death in North Carolina and Orange County are partially attributable to smoking and tobacco use; and WHEREAS, North Carolina's cigarette tax is currently $.05, the 3~d lowest in the nation; and WHEREAS, the use of tobacco products costs the State $4.75 billion in medical costs and lost productivity annually; and WHEREAS, each year 24,090 children in North Carolina start smoking each year {66 a day}; and WHEREAS, the best way to prevent and reduce tobacco use by children is to substantially increase the cost of cigarettes; and WHEREAS, such a tax increase would result in a 16.1 °I° decrease in youth smoking rates, preventing 105,750 North Carolina children from starting to smoke and saving 33,750 premature smoking-related death; and WHEREAS, North Carolina expects to suffer approximately a $2 billion deficit in fiscal year 2003, the third year of significant deficits; and WHEREAS, these deficits have caused cuts to important programs affecting the health and wellness of the citizens and more reductions are threatened; and WHEREAS, North Carolina targets almost no state funds towards preventing tobacco use; and