All smokers, huddle up.What in the world are we going to do April 1?Do we give up for ourselves, or do we give up on ourselves?These are the questions we need to ask ourselves before April Fool’s Day when — like some sick joke — a new tobacco tax goes into effect to finance the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP.In signing the Children’s Health Insurance Recovery Act into law Feb. 4, President Obama expanded SCHIP — already covering 7 million children — to provide coverage for another 4 million children who have working parents and don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t make enough for private health insurance.However, to pay for this nearly $33 billion expansion of coverage, the tax on a pack of cigarettes will increase 62 cents, single cigars go up 40 cents and — for those of you saving money by rolling your own Joes — loose tobacco receives a $23.53 a pound hike.The resulting dilemma apparently eluded the president when he said, in his remarks before signing the bill, “In a decent society, there are certain obligations that are not subject to tradeoffs or negotiations, and health care for our children is one of those obligations.”By forgetting how we come closer to a decent society, Obama neglected to address how this bill would be funded, but he did promise to “tackle smoking and obesity and helping people live longer, healthier lives.”Since the bill was signed, however, a backlash has been felt in many different ways.First of all, most smokers live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. This means the tax will adversely affect low-income families who statistically smoke and drink more often but still can’t afford medical coverage, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.Secondly, although unintentionally, many states are impeding the flow of money to children’s health insurance by not allowing smoking in many public places. Under former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, Louisiana passed such a law in June 2006, preventing smoking in restaurants and bars whose primary income is food sales.Finally, and perhaps most importantly, manufacturers are preparing for a drop off in smoking because of people quitting to save money. Anyone purchasing a pack of smokes at any Baton Rouge Circle K knows this, as its cash registers currently feature a sign titled “DON’T BLAME US!!!” in explaining to consumers the changes in prices.Companies including Altria Group, parent company of Philip Morris, as well as RJ Reynolds are increasing their prices in response to the tax. “Cigarette sales have been declining in recent years. We don’t think it makes a lot sense to fund an important government program with a revenue source that continues to deliver less money than the year before,” Bill Phelps, spokesman for Altria, said to Bloomberg on Monday.So smokers, I leave you to your best judgments. You really only have three options:Stock up on as many cigarettes as you can before the federal tax goes up, which — coupled with manufacturer increases — will make cigarettes worth their weight in gold. Quit smoking altogether and ruin the futures for millions of low-income children.Or make a difference in some special person’s life and keep infesting yourselves with cancer.After all, the garbage we’re spoon fed about how the children are the future — especially since real news is relegated to back page news whenever one of them goes missing — maybe we should act on it.As California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger might say, “It’s not a tumah.”It’s health coverage for millions.Eric Freeman Jr. is a 22-year-old political science junior from New Orleans.——Contact Eric Freeman Jr. at [email protected]