In February of this year, President Obama signed into law an expansion of the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to help provide health insurance for uninsured children. The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 will be funded by a significant increase in the federal tax for cigarettes. The new taxes go into effect on April 1 and will raise the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes from the current 39 cents to $1.01 per-pack. Public health experts predict that the new tax may result in as many as 1 million U.S. smokers quitting.

With the tax hike, smoking will become a very expensive, in addition to be being a deadly, habit. According to the American Cancer Society, about 443,000 people in the United States die every year from smoking-related illnesses. This death toll is more than the numbers of deaths from alcohol, motor vehicle accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined.

President Obama, a cigarette smoker himself, has been trying to quit according to recent news reports.

Interested in quitting smoking before the new federal taxes kick in? Try the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services new website for quitting or call their hotline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. You can also try posting your questions on the online support group for smoking on Healia Communities.