Angry about the surge in the federal tax on tobacco and a looming increase in the Mississippi tax?

Here’s how to get even: Quit.

The federal cigarette tax jumped by 62 cents a pack to $1.01 on April 1. Levies on other tobacco products also rose. Mississippi is poised to increase its 18-cent levy about four-fold, pushing the price-per-pack to about $5.

A pack-a-day smoker may soon spend almost $2,000 a year for the privilege, about half of which will be taxes and fees nonsmokers don’t pay.

That’s a hefty rise, considering many who still puff today got the habit when cigarettes were 35 cents per pack or less.

Obviously, smokers are upset about the increase and being singled out. Tobacco-sellers are probably not pleased that they’re taking the complaints, while their margin has not changed and their profits will likely fall as smokers turn to cheaper, black-market cigarettes, shop the Internet or at tax-free locations or do the right thing and quit.

About seven in 10 smokers say they want to stop smoking, and with good reason. People who do significantly reduce their risk of dying prematurely.

Quitters also reduce the risk of harming others around them — especially children — with their smoke. Children raised with a smoker have much higher rates of asthma, as well as more frequent and more severe respiratory infections.

In the United States, the direct medical cost of tobacco-related illness — what we pay for doctors, hospitals, surgery and extras like oxygen — is nearly $97 billion a year. The cost to Medicare is about $19 billion, while Medicaid programs shell out about $31 billion.

No other preventable cause of illness and death — not drinking, obesity or even illegal drug use — comes close to the toll inflicted by tobacco. It kills nearly 440,000 Americans every year and sickens millions more.

Of course, most smokers already are aware of those statistics. What they don’t know is how to stop.

Research shows that the most successful tobacco cessation starts with advice and counseling from your doctor. Physicians can prescribe drugs, Zyban and Chantix, that reduce cravings for cigarettes.

Nicotine-replacement products also can reduce withdrawal symptoms. They’re available over the counter at drug and discount stores.

Counseling is also offered at many hospitals, as well as by voluntary health groups like the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society. Both groups also offer free online resources.

It’s not easy to quit smoking, but it is possible. Millions of Americans have done it. The health benefits are immediate and long-lasting.

The American Lung Association offers information about local resources at 1-800-586-4872 and help with its Freedom From Smoking program at www.ffsonline.org. The American Cancer Society is online at www.cancer.org.