$1.34 on each pack of cigarettes was the national tobacco excise in ‘09 and that increased significantly to $1.46 in ‘11. New York state was way ahead of the pack with the highest excise level, $4.35 per pack, while Missouri brings up the tail end with just 17 cents per pack. The founder and chairman of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Joseph Califano Jr. likes the New York price point of $10.50 per pack but says it should be $100, to really deter youth smoking. But why are the states pulling back on the excise duty lever?
The decline is concerning public health specialists and seems to be going хэнд in хэнд with a cut in funding to other prevention initiatives. This does not make economic sense. There is a lot of evidence to say that prevention and taxes work in promoting both public health and state finances with a good return on their investment. However, public officials seem incapable of learning the lessons of prevention.
California is a prime example. In ‘88, the Sacramento administration raised tobacco excise and spent around 5 cents per pack on ‘quit smoking’ education and other programs. This investment went side by side with an $86 billion reduction in health care costs for a total $1.8 billion spend. Unfortunately, California today is surprisingly one of three states that have not raised the tobacco excise rate since 2000. Missouri and North Dakota are the other two.
CDC Anti-Smoking Ad Campaign
The bad news on prevention coincides with a new CDC anti-smoking ad campaign. A hard-hitting testimonial campaign from reformed smokers who have been, sometimes grotesquely deformed by the effects of long-term tobacco use. The top five states for preventive tobacco excise taxes are; New York ($4.35), Rhode Island ($3.46), Connecticut ($3.40), Hawaii ($3.20) and Washington ($3.025) At the other end of the spectrum are; Missouri ($0.17), Virginia ($0.30), Louisiana ($0.36), Georgia ($0.37) and Alabama
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