Washington state will hike cigarette taxes but won’t dedicate the expected revenue to anti-smoking campaigns. The state legislature voted to add $1 to the price of a pack of cigarettes, bringing the total per-pack tax to $3, as part of a plan to shrink the budget gap. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauded the new tax but lamented that the revenues won’t be dedicated to the state’s tobacco prevention program, which had its funding cut by 42 percent in the past year, according to the advocacy group. From its press release:
This will further erode Washington’s efforts to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, at the same time that smokers are more likely to seek help quitting as a result of the cigarette tax increase. Since tobacco taxes are being used to fill Washington’s budget gap, it is only fair to Washington’s current and potential tobacco users that the state at least maintain its tobacco prevention and cessation efforts. To continue making progress in reducing tobacco use, it is imperative that Washington’s leaders seize the earliest possible opportunity to restore funding for these programs.
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia increased cigarette taxes last year, according to a recent report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. None of them dedicated any of the new revenue to tobacco control, instead using it to shore up state budgets. A 10 percent increase in cigarette prices can reduce consumption by nearly 4 percent among adults and even more among kids, according to the CDC. The agency recommends dedicating $9.23 to $18.02 per capita for tobacco control programs.
Related: Tobacco Companies Combat Higher Cigarette Taxes with Promotions
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From one free man”
I feel that it is thievery”
The tobacco tax generates around $395 million in revenue for Washington state. For each pack sold, about $2-3 of the tax goes into the state’s general fund which pays for state services. About 51 cents of the tax goes to an education fund.
So my question: When smoking is eradicated, where will the $395 million come from?
Watch your back…something you enjoy will become the next target for witch hunting and taxation. Freedom of choice be damned; the nanny state is in full control.
Let’s pick something that most everyone enjoys to tax like this, such as a soda pop tax. Imagine a $2 increase per six pack of soda pop. Sugar filled beverages don’t really help fight diabetes now, do they. Imagine everyone drinking diet soda, or making their own at home, what a hoot that’d be! It’s the same with the cigarette tax, how many people are rolling their own now anyway with the RYO machines so readily available, and at half the price it takes only minutes.