The Need for a Significant Tobacco Tax Increase

December 10th 2008

 1 comment
Posted by: Paul Kiser, Director, Kentucky ACTION
 
Well, as Sheila noted back in October, we don’t know if Governor Beshear will call a special session to address Kentucky’s budget woes. Doing so before the 2009 Session or during the three-week legislative recess in January will avoid the super-majority (60% in favor) required during “short,” odd-year sessions to pass budget related items. A SIGNIFICANT tobacco tax increase may be hard enough to get with a simple majority requirement. A super-majority requirement might mean some type of increase, passed solely to help budget woes, but perhaps not large enough gain the health benefits we’re all seeking.

 

That’s really what this blog is about. We MUST continue to focus on WHY we’re advocating larger tobacco tax increases. It is VERY simple, the more expensive tobacco products become, the less people will consume them (and kids are less likely to ever become addicted!). The reasoning is supported not only by numerous modern studies and analyses, it also comes from long ago research conducted by the tobacco industry – “Of all the concerns, there is one - taxation - that alarms us the most. While marketing restrictions and public and passive smoking [restrictions] do depress volume, in our experience taxation depresses it much more severely. Our concern for taxation is, therefore, central to our thinking.” – Philip Morris, 1985. It’s too bad they weren’t sharing their research 20 years ago, we might not have a lot of the problems we have today. The neat thing is that it’s not just ANY smokers that consume less when tobacco taxes are raised. The addicted adult population is impacted by tobacco tax hikes, but much less significantly than two key sensitive sub-populations - teen smokers and pregnant women. This is where we’ll really gain the most with a large price increase.

 

Both of these groups reduce their smoking at a rate of about 7% for every 10% increase in the overall price of a pack of cigarettes. As Kentucky leads the country in the rate of pregnant women who smoke with our youth rates still way above the national average there is no time for delaying this important public health initiative. But that also tells us one very important thing – a small increase will not improve our health. If our legislature only has the will to pass another tiny tax increase – say 30-cents or less – then our state will lose out on a massive opportunity to really make a dent in the burden that tobacco consumption has on Kentucky’s physical and economic health. The national average state tobacco tax is currently $1.19 per pack. We sit here in Kentucky at 30-cents per pack. A 70-cent increase STILL wouldn’t even bring us to the national average, but it would do wonders to reduce our smoking rates. And it might even raise a little revenue (more than $200 million each year!) to help in this dire economy.  Maybe we could even fund more healthcare access and further tobacco use prevention initiatives! What a novel idea!

 

Spread the word. Let’s make a difference – a tiny tax is just another “tax” but 70-cents is a serious public health initiative!

 

Comments

Elizabeth said...

It's clear that the majority of Kentuckians support a cigarette tax increase - why won't our legislators listen? We need to make them understand that the health of our children and the health of Kentucky's budget are important to us. Call the LRC hotline! It's quick, it's easy and it works.

The number's 1-800-372-7181

posted at 10:20 AM on Jan 9th 2009

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