In a few days, Congress will return to reauthorize the State
Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. The program will
pay for expanded coverage for children through an increase in
cigarette taxes. The logic is to raise revenue while
discouraging a behavior harmful to child health. Instead of a
cigarette tax, however, Congress should address the health
problem that research indicates is the greatest crisis facing
America's young people by taxing junk food instead. The new
epidemic facing American children is obesity. The Foundation for
Child Development's 2007 Child Well-Being Index has found that
the overall health of America's children is the lowest since the
index began in 1975. What is driving down the overall health of
American children is the epidemic of obese and overweight kids.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that
the percentage of Americans ages 6 to 11 who were overweight
hovered in the 4 percent to 6 percent range during the 1960s and
1970s, but exploded to around 11