Federal Panel Endorses Cigarette Tax Hike February 14, 2003
News Summary
A 28-member federal commission on smoking has recommended to the Bush administration that the federal tax on cigarettes be increased from 39 cents to $2.39 a pack, the Washington Post reported Feb. 13.Panel members said the tax hike would encourage 5 million Americans to quit smoking within a year, and prevent 3 million premature deaths.
"There is a lot of science on the impact of cigarette prices on consumption," said Ron Davis, a trustee of the American Medical Association and a member of the panel that wrote the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health report. "A 10-percent increase in price will lead to a 4-percent decrease in consumption."
The added tax also would generate $28 billion. The panel recommended that half of that revenue be earmarked for anti-tobacco efforts, including a national quit line, a major advertising campaign, and insurance coverage for federal workers seeking treatment.
In response to the proposed cigarette tax increase, White House spokesman Scott McLellan said that President Bush "believes in cutting taxes, not increasing taxes."
The tobacco industry also spoke against the tax proposal, saying there is no guarantee it would reduce smoking or tobacco-related deaths.
"The government pockets over $80 million a day from smokers," said David Howard, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. "The government certainly has all the money it needs if it is interested in addressing smoker issues."
The last time Congress approved a tobacco tax increase was in 1999. Lawmakers raised the federal tax 14 cents over a two-year period.
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