It’s a bright and sunny morning but it’s not all fun and games for these kids. “These kids are running around, not doing anything, and they already have the side effects of second hand in their system,” warns Dr. John Iacuone, Executive Director of the Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. Second hand smoke can be just as dangerous as smoking. “They haven’t even smoked ever and they are going to have bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, just by being around somebody that smoked, think about that,” explains Dr. Iacuone.

“We’re here today to encourage each of our senators, and state representatives to vote in support of an increase in the tobacco user fee of $1,” announces Jim Nathan, President of Lee Memorial Health System.

In an effort to keep from lighting up, Lee Memorial Health System has teamed up with members of the Fort Myers City Council, the Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida, as well as the American Heart and Lung Associations, to persuade state lawmakers to adopt a dollar tobacco tax. “We need to be thinking about the long term viability of our nation, and really its children,” says Nathan.

Putting out those cigarettes for good could do more than you might think. “The problem is smoking effects more than just your heart and lungs. It literally has an impact on your capacity to carry oxygen in the blood,” explains Dr. Andrew Mikulaschek, Director or the Trauma Center. “We literally tell our patients, if you don’t stop smoking, you will wind up with an amputation. And I’ve seen folks, they don’t care, they are going to smoke.”

Johnny Streets, a Fort Myers City Councilman explained it this way, “it’s just like TV, which is a plug-in drug, cigarettes are drugs.” “For every 10% that tobacco products go up in cost, 7% less kids will smoke,” says Kurt Goerke, a spokesman for the American Lung Association. “God forbid, pre-teens, if they are starting to think about smoking, the tweeners, those with more limited funds, hopefully we can price this out of their ability to pay for it,” adds Dr. Mikulaschek.

Some community leaders are hoping they can put out the cigarette smoke for good, by raising a little financial fire. Lee Memorial Health System is also going one step further and will adopt a tobacco free policy on all of its campuses in November.