Today, the United States Congress passed, and President Obama will sign (scheduled for 4:30) the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation, which includes a 61.66 cent increase in the federal tax on cigarettes (to just over $1 per pack), with an increases to the federal tax rates on all other tobacco products.

So, what does this actually mean?  Good news!  Lots of lives saved and lots of money saved!

According to the research team at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids,  here's what should happen as a result of this new policy:

• Increase in total number of kids alive today who will not become smokers:  1,992,000
• Number of current adult smokers in the US who will quit:  1,020,000
• Number of smoking-affected births avoided over next five years:  248,000
• Number of total smokers saved from future smoking-caused death:  905,000
• 5-year health care savings from fewer smoking-affected pregnancies & births:  $423.2  million
• 5-year health care savings from fewer smoking-caused heart attacks & strokes:  $493.3 million
• Long-term healthcare savings in the US from adult & youth smoking declines:  $44.5 billion
  • Share of healthcare savings in federal-state Medicaid program:  $7.5 billion
  • Share of healthcare savings in federal Medicare program:  $8.6 billion

• tobacco
• tax
• SCHIP
• save
• lives