Federal Tax on Cigarettes Increases by 62 cents
Here is an article that ran in the Indianapolis Star:
Smokers looking for another incentive to quit just received about 62 cents’ worth of one: the increase in the federal tax on cigarettes.
In Indiana, about $1 in federal tax will combine with the state’s 99.5-cent tax to bring the average cost of a pack of cigarettes to near $5 by April 1.
Anti-tobacco advocates welcome the increase, saying it will likely lead to a further reduction in cigarette sales.
“Any time that there’s an increase in the price of tobacco at the retail level, that translates to people trying to quit,” said Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation. “Everyone is definitely watching their costs very closely, and this is a great way to save money for your family.”
Ten months after a state tax increase, Indiana saw cigarette sales decline by 17.8 percent.
The 61.66-cent federal cigarette tax increase could lead to 27,600 fewer adult smokers in Indiana, according to an estimate from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Not only will the increase persuade smokers to quit, it also may prevent youths from picking up the habit, said Liza Sumpter, tobacco control program manager for the Marion County Health Department.
Unlike other cigarette tax hikes, this one includes increases for other tobacco products, including “little cigars” or “brown cigarettes,” frequent substitutions for cigarettes, Sneegas said.
“We were encouraged to see that, because when you increase one product . . . you don’t want to drive people to another tobacco product,” she said.
At the Puff & Chew on Indianapolis’ Eastside, Sondra Cooper already has seen a decline in business. The price for a carton of Marlboros at her store recently rose from $39.99 to $47.
The upcoming increase could sound the death-knell for the two stores she has owned for almost a decade.
“This is probably going to end up putting me out of business,” Cooper said. “I have people employed here. They’re going to lose their jobs.”
Andy Deibert, who lives in Bloomington and works in Downtown Indianapolis, said he had not heard of the increase Wednesday, but “it might make me quit,” he said.
But not every smoker has reached a similar conclusion.
“It’s crazy,” said Bobbie Stephens, who was taking a smoking break from work Wednesday afternoon. “I said when it got to be $2 a pack, I would quit, but I’m not going to give up smoking just because they keep raising and raising it.”
Her friend Darlene Ratliff, who has smoked for about three decades, agreed that the federal tax seemed unfair.
“I’m tired of the United States targeting smokers,” she said. “What about drinkers?”
Still, Ratliff added that she was thinking about trying to quit once more.
“It’s not because of the price, but because of my health,” she said.
Drinky_McGee : RE: Federal Tax on Cigarettes Increases by 62 cents More..
I think you guys should stop diddling around and just go for prohibition. That always works like a charm.
SmokeFreeIndy : RE: Federal Tax on Cigarettes Increases by 62 cents More..
Smoke Free Indy doesn’t advocate for prohibition of cigarettes.
Just smoking them? So have any other intelligent citizen(s) researched this at all? I did and in a few short minutes I found the truth. Here are a few legitimate links, the first study was done in our most healthy state, California.
Here is their conclusion:
Conclusions The results do not support a causal
relation between environmental tobacco smoke and
tobacco related mortality, although they do not rule
out a small effect. The association between exposure
to environmental tobacco smoke and coronary heart
disease and lung cancer may be considerably weaker
than generally believed.
Read it all here:
http://www.data-yard.net/43/1057...
More if you are serious about the truth.
http://www.smokingaloud.com/ets....
http://www.smokersclubinc.com/mo...
http://www.geocities.com/shelion...
http://www.forces.org/evidence/e...
Drinky_McGee : RE: Federal Tax on Cigarettes Increases by 62 cents More..
Thanks.
By adding an elevated tax on Cigarettes the government is obviously trying to “prtoect us from ourselves”.
Why should it be the government’s job to protect people from themselves? The government is (or should be) there to protect your rights from those who would try to deprive you of them. If you want to destroy your body with cigarettes, you have every right to.
If you want to protect yourself from second hand smoke, don’t go places where people smoke! Most places don’t allow smoking anymore, and if you’re outside just move away from the “offender”.
I should mention that I don’t smoke. I think it’s a horrible habit that will kill you, or at least lead to serious health problems.
SmokeFreeIndy : RE: Federal Tax on Cigarettes Increases by 62 cents More..
From a previous post:
The scientific data is VERY conclusive. If you don’t believe the thousands of peer reviewed, scientific studies, then check out the tobacco industry’s own documents about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Not even our largest opponents are arguing anymore that secondhand smoke isn’t dangerous. Been there, done that.
If you would like the evidence basis that outlines the health impact of secondhand smoke, please visit the bibliography/reference pages from the 2006 Surgeon General’s Report – especially chapters 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9, as these relate to health impact of secondhand smoke in adults. You can just Google “2006 Surgeon General’s Report.”
Regardless of whether or not you want to consider “government reports,” the Surgeon General’s report IS an independent, scholarly and scientific report. You can read the acknowledgements of the report to see the editors and reviewers of this report.
Also, the reference pages of the SGR cite hundreds of articles that were published in other peer-reviewed journals as well.
You can also try the IU School of Medicine Library, someone at the reference desk might be able to help you out.
SmokeFreeIndy : RE: Federal Tax on Cigarettes Increases by 62 cents More..
I should start by stating that Smoke Free Indy has nothing to do with the increase in cost of cigarettes. We’re glad it happened, but we didn’t cause anything to happen.
One of the reasons the government taxes cigarettes at such a high rate is because it is trying to offset the dramatic insurance/health care costs that smokers cause. Smokers put a heavy burden on the health care system, smokers get sick more often, call in sick more often, are more likely to access health care. Children that live in a home with smokers are also more likely to get sick. These are national statistics. I know some smokers will come on here and say, “I’ve never been sick and I’ve smoked for 10 years.” It’s fact. Obesity and smoking are a serious burden to our health care system. Healthy, non smokers are paying extra for smokers and the overweight.
Drinky_McGee : RE: Federal Tax on Cigarettes Increases by 62 cents More..
Once again, there is no conclusive evidence for your claims. It’s entirely possible that smokers are less of a burden on the health care system than non-smokers. We don’t tend to have decades of decrepit, expensive old age like you blessed immortals. Everyone (brace yourself) dies, and the cost of those deaths is pretty much equal whether the cause is lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, brain cancer, or cancer of the middle finger. The earlier a person checks out, the more they save the State on things like nursing homes and social security. You’re welcome.
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