There may be a decrease of smokers on campus and in Ames because of the recent $1 cigarette tax hike.

Gov. Chet Culver recently signed a bill implementing a $1 tax increase on a pack of cigarettes in Iowa.

“Demand for cigarettes is relatively inelastic, because they are addictive,” said John Schroeter, associate professor of economics. “For current smokers, the quantity demand isn’t going to respond much to price changes.”

Sarah Olsen, former ISU student from Griswold who smokes, said she doesn’t plan to quit smoking because of the tax, but she also sees the benefits for the state.

“I am not all that happy about it, but I think it is good for the economy,” Olsen said. “I think it has helped people attempt to quit, which is a good thing.”

The tax could have an impact, not only on the number of people who quit smoking, but also on the number of people who start, Schroeter said.

“It is more likely to discourage someone from starting smoking than it is to get someone to quit,” he said.

The tax could have large effects on the health of smokers and nonsmokers.

“There is a huge percentage of people who are going to quit because of this,” said Raymond Rodriguez, program coordinator for the Thielen Student Health Center. “There are also many people who are going to make excuses to continue [smoking] because it is an addiction.”

The tax increase will give smokers another incentive to quit.

With every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes, there will be a 7 percent decrease in quitting and starting, Rodriguez said.

“That is huge,” he said. “Every state that has seen that happen has seen an increase in revenue, but a decrease in sales.”

The Student Health Center offers programs to help students with tobacco cessation.

Rodriguez said the Student Health Center has received more phone calls from people who are interested in quitting smoking since the bill was passed.

“We don’t normally get a whole lot of phone calls, but we have seen an increase,” he said.

Quitline Iowa is a help line for people who need assistance in kicking the habit. Since the tax was passed two weeks ago, their number of calls have tripled, said George Belitsos, CEO of Youth and Shelter Services and chairman of the Story County Tobacco Task Force.

“Hopefully in the future, we will continue to see the number of smokers in Iowa go down,” Belitsos said.

The Story County Tobacco Task Force has been working on trying to get the tax increase for four years.

“Our goal is to reduce the number of smokers, especially among our youth,” Belitsos said.

For more information on how to quit smoking, call the Student Health Center at 294-1868 or Quitline Iowa at 866-822-6879.