In order to reduce smoking among children, teens, and pregnant women, and achieve intended health outcomes, the excise tax on cigarettes must be raised by at least a $1 per pack, the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Tomorrow said Friday.
This potentially would be the most significant and proven health improvement measure the General Assembly could enact in their lifetimes.
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As legislators continue to discuss the two-year budget and increased tobacco taxes are on the table, the Coalition said that an increase of less than $1 is “just a tax.”
A lesser amount might raise revenues, but it will not create the incentive for tens of thousands of Kentucky adults to quit smoking; nor will it prevent thousands of Kentucky youth from becoming adult smokers.
Experience in other states shows that, when cigarette taxes increase by a lesser amount, tobacco companies immediately issue coupons and other price discount mechanisms to keep prices the same. Then, to recoup lost profits, the tobacco companies gradually raise their prices. Several months down the road, smokers are still smoking; they’re just paying more to feed their addiction.
By contrast, a $1 increase in the tax on a pack of cigarettes will create a large enough and consistent price increase to lead 29,400 Kentucky adults to quit smoking. The price hike also will keep 23,200 youth currently younger than 18 from ever starting, the Coalition said.
Over the long-term, the reduction in smoking will reduce cancer, heart disease, COPD and other tobacco-related illness in Kentucky. And it will save $1.07 billion in tobacco-related health care costs. Moreover, Kentucky’s cigarette tax will remain competitive with bordering states, and below the national average of $1.72 per pack.
The Coalition is urging legislators, as they finalize budget negotiations over the coming days, to take this opportunity to improve health in the Commonwealth in a measurable way, by increasing the tax by at least $1 as Oklahoma recently did.
