ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- An oral cancer survivor visited Annapolis on Tuesday with a mission: show lawmakers how tobacco ruined his life.
Gruen von Behrens said he decided to get in the face of legislators arriving to work to make a point words alone could not. He wants them to see -- up close and personal -- what tobacco use did to him.
The 34-year-old Illinois native said he wants the General Assembly to increase the tobacco tax on little cigars, premium cigars and smokeless tobacco to 70 percent, the same level as the tax rate on cigarettes.
on Behrens' appearance alone made a very strong impression. It's one thing to hear about something, but quite another to see it for yourself, 11 News reporter David Collins said.
"(At) 13 and 17, tobacco was the game. I had no idea that tobacco could do this to me," von Behrens said.
Von Behrens, whose speech is slurred as a result of his cancer treatment, had to have half of his tongue removed, in addition to another radical surgery that removed half of his neck muscles.
"Tobacco is tobacco is tobacco, and I believe having a lower tax on some tobaccos and a higher tax on the smoking tobaccos, that's basically representative of saying this is a safe alternative, when it is not," von Behrens said.
Von Behrens said he began chewing tobacco to "fit in" at the age of 13, and that he quickly became addicted.
Three years later, he noticed a white spot on the side of his tongue where he kept his tobacco dip. At 17, cancer split his tongue in half and it spread. Doctors gave him a 20 percent chance of survival.
"Other teens worry about the prom or the next baseball game. I had to worry about saving my life," von Behrens said. "My mom (was warning) me, 'Don't use tobacco,' and I was using it behind her back. When she found out that I got sick, it broke her heart. It hurt her, but it hurt me more seeing how my mother reacted."
According to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, almost as many high school children smoke cigars as they do cigarettes. The DHMH figures also indicate 8.4 percent of high school boys surveyed said they use smokeless tobacco products.
Officials have blamed the low cost of cigar marketing, saying some products are marketed as bubble-gum flavored.
"If you think you're having a bad day, you aren't. Take a look at this face and tell me about a bad day," von Behrens said.
The Senate already agreed to increase the tax on cigars and smokeless products, and a House committee has voted in favor of an increase. Advocates said neither proposal goes far enough.
Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/politics/30725818/detail.html#ixzz1pl1w6XPb
