Addiction treatment advocates in New Jersey are calling on lawmakers to increase alcohol taxes by five cents to provide more funding for services, the Newark Star-Ledger reported Feb. 23.

A group of mothers who lost children to addiction came to the New Jersey statehouse this week in support of the Just a Nickel Campaign. The proposal is to raise alcohol taxes by a nickel per gallon to raise up to $10 million annually for addiction treatment and prevention.

Louise Habicht told of her struggle to get help for her late son, John. "I tried to get him treatment. I would be on the phone. But there were waiting lists and we had no insurance," she said. The Parent to Parent Coalition, which is sponsoring the campaign, says the tax would pay for 3,800 new treatment slots in the state.

Besides telling their own stories, the mothers displayed newspaper obituaries and news stories showing the toll of addiction on young people as well as older victims.

The New Jersey alcohol tax has not increased since 1992. To date, no state lawmakers have endorsed the Just a Nickel campaign, and none attended the news conference at the capitol. But Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), chair of the Senate's health and human services committee, said, "This is certainly worth exploring. There is not nearly enough treatment for the uninsured and underinsured."

The New Jersey Licensed Beverage Association contends that taxes are high enough already. "Just what we need is another tax," said executive director Lewis Rothbart. "Half the cost of a bottle of liquor is basically tax ... There is an awful lot of money out there right now for drug and alcohol treatment."

On the other hand, he said, the proposed increase is minimal, and "if it's going to a good cause, we will probably end up supporting it."