We're #1! And that's not good in this case.

Carla Axtman

Most of the time when I read stuff about our state, it reminds me how awesome we are. But today, it's pretty clear there's a lot of room for us to get better.

Example:

Nick Budnick, The Oregonian:

When a new federal report last week showed Oregon leading the nation in retail outlets illegally selling tobacco to kids, the number was no fluke.

Despite its reputation for health care and healthy living, the state has led the country three of the last five years in selling tobacco to kids. It took fourth place one of those years, and missed first place by .1 percent another.

Not something that will cause most of us to don a foam finger and run around cheering for the home state.

How did we get here? Certainly part of the problem is likely cheaper cigarettes. Oregon has some of the lowest tobacco taxes in the nation. And based on Budnick's article, enforcement is incredibly lax and penalties are weak.

A 10 cent per pack tax increase did pass was proposed in the 2013 legislative session, but as I understand it, the Democrats wanted it to be quite a bit higher. Unfortunately, the GOP wouldn't budge. They've sold their souls to the company store.

So what's next, Oregonians? Are we okay with being the state in the union that sells cheap cigarettes to kids and keep turning a blind eye?

By Carla Axtman Sept. 03, 2013