States

Alaska: The Matanuska-Susitna Borough passed a borough wide increase on cigarettes and tobacco products. The legislation adds $1 per pack of cigarettes and comparable amounts to other tobacco products. The tax could raise as much as four million dollars in a year. Alaska’s State tax on cigarettes is $1.60. Click for more details on the borough wide tax.

Colorado: An approved tax increase from 20 cents to 80 cents is expected to contribute as much as $62.9 million to Colorado’s budget for the 2004-2005 fiscal year. The money is to be used for tobacco education and cessation programs, along with increasing health care for children.

Kentucky: The State with the lowest tobacco tax in the country, Kentucky, increased its per pack tax from 3 cents to 30 cents. One cent from the tax on each pack of cigarettes sold will go toward the Cancer Research Fund, to be split between University of Kentucky and University of Louisville research cancer research projects. The higher tax began June 1, 2005. Click here for more information.

Louisiana: Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco proposed cigarette tax increase of $1 has been cancelled due to a lack of support from the House. The Governor intended to use the increase to fund teacher salaries and improve health care. Click here for more details.

Minnesota: Several tobacco tax increases were proposed in the Minnesota legislature, including one that would be applied to wholesale vendors of cigarettes. The fee would lead to an increase in cigarette prices of approximately 17 cents, when passed along to the consumer. The increase should raise approximately $50 million for the State. Some in favor of a tax increase feel 17 cents is not adequate to decrease smoking rates in the State in light of recent findings that almost 5,700 Minnesotans died in 2002 of smoking-related causes (as reported by a Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota study). Click for more details on the tax and the findings of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MN study.

Montana: The $1 per pack increase in Montana’s cigarette tax has appeared to have had a significant effect on the number of smokers in the State, although the State has not been able to raise the predicted revenue from the tax increase. Based on revenue from the first half of the year, the State is expecting to take in about $13.3 million of the $16.2 million they had projected from the tax increase. Click for more information on the tax increase and uses of the earnings.

North Carolina: A House budget proposal includes a 25 cent increase in the cigarette tax, 10 cents less than that proposed by the Senate. The proposed hike would bring the total tax on a pack of cigarettes in the State, currently the lowest in the country at 5 cents, to 30 cents. House Democrats are currently debating how high the tax should go, with some desiring a 75 cent tax that would corroborate with CDC guidelines stating that a 75 cent tax contributes to decreasing youth smoking. Click here for more information. In addition, click to read a summary of the projected benefits of a tax increase in NC.

Ohio: Ohio’s tobacco tax could increase by 70 cents when legislators congregate in late June to decide the state's budget. Such an increase would result in a total per pack tax of $1.25. Most of the income provided by the proposed increase will cover planned tax cuts and part will go to the children’s hospital fund. Click here for more information.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma’s new 80 cent excise tax on cigarettes, which came into effect on January 1, 2005 has not raised the $71 million dollars it was expected to by April 31. Only $23 million dollars were raised in the first four months of 2005, possibly due to the tribal smoke shops importing lower taxed cigarettes from border States or pre-tax stockpiling of products by warehouses and distributors. Click here for more information.

Virginia: In accordance with legislation passed in 2004, Virginia’s cigarette tax is scheduled to increase 10 cents to 30 cents on July 1. Click for further information on the increase.

Washington: Governor Christine Gregoire approved a 60 cent per pack tax increase on cigarettes. The new tax of $2.025 per pack goes into effect on July 1, 2005, making Washington the State with the 3rd highest cigarette tax in the country. Revenue from the tax increase will be directed toward education. A special notice about the increase from the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Wisconsin: A $1 increase in the cigarette tax is being pushed to cover increased Medicaid costs in Wisconsin. Such an increase could contribute approximately $250 million to the State’s budget. The President of Smoke Free Wisconsin estimates that the increase could prevent as many as 72,000 young people from starting to smoke and could encourage up to 44,000 people to quit. However, no tax increase has been included in either the Governor’s or the Joint Finance Committee's budget. While the Senate is still debating, advocates are not optimistic about the likelihood of the Governor passing the increase. Click for a full story.

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