Tobacco Pricing

State Policy

Louisiana voters approve scholarship and cigarette tax amendments (LA)
Louisiana voters passed a ballot initiative that will renew a four-cent cigarette tax that was due to expire in 2012, and will earmark about $40 million of tobacco settlement funds per year for a state program which offers free college tuition. Legislators linked the cigarette tax vote with the scholarship fund because Governor Bobby Jindal was extremely opposed to taxation, but was a strong champion of the scholarship fund, known as the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS). With the passage of this vote, the state cigarette tax will remain at 36 cents per pack, and the revenue from the 4-cent tax renewal, estimated at $12 million annually, will be dedicated to healthcare programs. Click here to read more.

Maryland group lobbies for tobacco tax increase (MD)
The Maryland Citizen’s Health Initiative has launched a campaign to raise Maryland’s state taxes on all tobacco products. The group is calling for a $1 tax increase per cigarette pack, and for other tobacco product taxes to increase at a corresponding rate. The money raised from the proposed tobacco taxes would fund state health-related programs, including tobacco control programs. The president of the initiative believes the tax increase would help decrease the 15.1% smoking prevalence in the state. The proposal has been endorsed by over 150 faith, community and health organizations. Read more here.

New Jersey considers new taxes on non-cigarette tobacco products (NJ)
New Jersey legislators are considering a bill that would increase taxes on non-cigarette tobacco products, such as little cigars. The state cigarette tax is $2.70 per pack, but little cigars are taxed at a much lower rate, making them an attractive option to cost-conscious smokers. In the past, high cigarette taxes might have enticed smokers to quit, and stopped nonsmokers from starting to smoke, but now some smokers are just switching products, says Karen Blumenfeld, executive director of Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy. New Jersey Senator Paul Sarlo, the sponsor of the proposed bill, says that an increased tax would make little cigars less appealing, while tobacco retailers believe a higher tax would hurt business and drive residents to other states to find cheaper tobacco products. Public health advocates believe that an increased tax on little cigars would decrease the prevalence of smoking, creating a healthier population. Read more here.

top

International

Impact of the 2010 tobacco tax increase in Australia on short-term smoking cessation: A continuous tracking survey (Australia)
According to a study published in The Medical Journal of Australia, there was a short-term association between a 2010 tobacco tax increase and increased tobacco cessation rates. Researchers examined data from the 2009 and 2010 New South Wales Tobacco Tracking Survey to determine the number of people who quit smoking three months before and five months after the 2010 tax increase, and 2009 data from the same time period. The results show that cessation rates were higher in the three months after the tax increase compared to three months before the tax increase, but the higher quit rate was not sustained in the long term. The authors suggest that regular tobacco tax increases may heighten smoking cessation activity. Read the study abstract here.

top

Back to Table of Contents