By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    UV damage to eyes
    Warning Signs of Long-Term UV Damage to Your Eyes
    December 9, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    The Ultimate Healthcare Recruiting and Staffing Guidebook
    March 21, 2022
    medicare part d benefits
    Everything that You Need to Know About Medicare Part D
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Conservatives: The Utah Health Exchange is Not a Model
    July 23, 2011
    Medical Malpractice Reform Losing Physician Support
    November 7, 2011
    Hospitals Aim to Apply Direct Payments of Care Delivery to Increase Resources
    August 28, 2012
    Latest News
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: More Bad News on Tobacco
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > News > More Bad News on Tobacco
NewsPolicy & Law

More Bad News on Tobacco

gooznews
Last updated: July 14, 2012 9:10 am
gooznews
Share
7 Min Read
Image
SHARE

Image

The number of states hiking cigarette taxes to raise revenue while curbing smoking has slowed to a crawl.

Just one state, Illinois, has enacted a tobacco tax increase in 2012. That’s down from three in 2011 and an average of about ten a year for most of the past decade, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group.

Image

The number of states hiking cigarette taxes to raise revenue while curbing smoking has slowed to a crawl.

Just one state, Illinois, has enacted a tobacco tax increase in 2012. That’s down from three in 2011 and an average of about ten a year for most of the past decade, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group.

And the lobbying landscape for anti-smoking activists pushing states to raise tobacco taxes just became more difficult. Late last month, the federal government warned local communities that they are prohibited from using federal prevention grants to push for ordinances that promote public health, which includes smoking restriction laws and cigarette tax increases – the cornerstones of most states’ smoking prevention strategy. Numerous states have been cutting back programs that help people quit smoking.

Inspector General Daniel Levinson at the Health and Human Services Department issued the warning to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has doled out $403 million for anti-smoking and anti-obesity “Communities Putting Prevention to Work” grants to 60 state and local government agencies and non-profit groups. Authorization for the spending was included in the 2009 stimulus act and the 2010 health care reform law. Smoking and obesity are the two biggest behavioral factors driving rising health care costs.

There may be “inappropriate lobbying activities” by groups that received the grants, Levinson wrote to Thomas Friedan, director of CDC. Federal law prohibits grantees from using money to lobby, whether at the federal, state or local level, Levinson warned. 

The grants included $7 million to Jefferson County, Alabama for activities like promoting “the passage of a tobacco excise tax by the Alabama state legislature”; $1 million to Delaware’s governor’s office for anti-smoking work that included seeking “sponsorship of a bill that increases excise tax on other tobacco products”; and $560,000 to Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services for working toward higher tobacco taxes.

Cigarette Excise Tax Rates per 20 Pack
StateTax Rate
New York$4.35
Rhode Island$3.46
Connecticut$3.40
Hawaii$3.20
Washington$3.025
Guam$3.00
New Jersey$2.70
Vermont$2.62
Wisconsin$2.52
Massachusetts$2.51
Source: NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES

The HHS investigator initiated the review after receiving complaints from Rep. Ed Whitfield and Rep. Brett Guthrie, Republicans from Kentucky, a leading tobacco production state. Whitfield, in his ninth term, reports having received over $90,000 in campaign funds from Altria, which owns Philip Morris.

The two Kentucky Congressmen demanded the investigation last March after Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the House Energy and Commerce committee that lobbying restrictions on the grantees only applied to efforts to influence federal legislation, not state and local ordinances. The inspector general rejected that interpretation. “Our review . . . indicated that (inappropriate spending) may have originated from a lack of clear guidance – or even conflicting information – from CDC to (Communities Putting Prevention to Work) grantees concerning the anti-lobbying restrictions,” Levinson said.

The HHS investigators are also looking into state and local efforts to pass soda taxes or restrict sugar-drink cup sizes, such as the initiative recently undertaken by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York.  “OIG plans to review CDC grants to reduce chronic disease and promote healthy lifestyles,” the warning letter said.

They should have little problem turning up examples of inappropriate activity there, too. The $10.4 million CDC grant performance report  by the city of Philadelphia for obesity prevention work noted that its “campaign for a two cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages . . . came up one vote short in the City Council.”

The City of Chicago, which received an $11.5 million prevention grant, used some of its money to “urge the General Assembly to adopt legislation that would increase the cigarette tax by $1 per pack.” Anti-smoking activists cheered passage of the tax hike during the spring session of the legislature.

“When prices go up and funding for prevention programs go up, smoking goes down,” said Vince Willmore, a spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “Unfortunately, the rate of enacting cigarette tax increases has fallen off in recent years.”

The federal government raised cigarette taxes in 2009 by 62 cents to $1.01 a pack. State cigarette taxes range from a high of $4.35 a pack in New York to 17 cents a pack in Missouri, with the national average standing at $1.46 a pack.

There is a direct correlation between cigarette price hikes and consumption. A ten percent increase in price reduces consumption by about seven percent in teenagers and four percent in adults, research shows.

However, the tobacco industry has been undermining the anti-smoking effect of tax increases by discounting the price of its product. The result is that state and federal cigarette tax increases are generating more revenue and less smoking reduction than expected.

Still, the nationwide reduction in smoking over the past two decades represents a major triumph for public health advocates, who in addition to higher taxes have pushed laws to restrict smoking in public places, including the workplace, and funding for individual anti-smoking counseling and drugs. Adult smoking has dropped from 25.7 percent of the population in 1991 to 19.3 percent in 2010. Just 18.1 percent of high school students smoked in 2011, down from 36.4 percent in 1997.

photo:stocksolutions/shutterstock

TAGGED:anti-smoking campaign
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025
recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025

You Might also Like

Medical Identity Theft: The Low-Hanging Fruit for Thieves

September 13, 2013
AI in pharmaceutical industry
Pharmaceuticals

Automation in Pharmacovigilance: A Double-Edged Sword

November 15, 2023

Massachusetts Governor’s Race: Views on Healthcare

September 9, 2014
Does more insurance mean longer lines?
Health ReformHospital AdministrationPolicy & LawPublic Health

Expanding Insurance May Not Mean Long Lines and Trouble Seeing the Doctor

September 26, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?