Pennsylvania Tobacco Tax Increase a Victory for Public Health

PA-Final_Budget_Statement.docx

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Michelle Zimmerman

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

Phone: (888) 227-6446 Ext. 8601

E-mail: [email protected]

Pennsylvania Tobacco Tax Increase a Victory for Public Health

By Increasing Taxes on Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products,

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Will Save Lives and Protect Kids

Harrisburg, PA – July 13, 2016 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), American Heart Association (AHA), American Lung Association (ALA) and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (Tobacco-Free Kids) are celebrating the legislature’s approval of a $1.00 cigarette tax increase that will reduce tobacco use rates, save lives and prevent thousands of kids from becoming addicted tobacco users. The increase, which the governor is expected to sign in the coming days, will raise the current state cigarette tax of $1.60 per pack to a new total of $2.60 per pack. Additionally, taxing e-cigarettes at 40 percent of wholesale will discourage Pennsylvanians, especially youth, from using these products.

“Lawmakers made a very strong statement that reducing tobacco use and, therefore, tobacco-related cancer diagnoses and deaths, is a priority in this state,” said Diane Phillips, ACS CAN government relations director. “This tobacco tax increase will protect Pennsylvania kids from becoming tobacco’s newest lifelong customers and save lives. ACS CAN is grateful to all the state lawmakers that supported this common-sense, public health policy.”

“It is truly terrific news for Pennsylvania’s kids and health that the Legislature has voted to increase the cigarette tax by $1 per pack,” said Amy Barkley, regional advocacy director for Tobacco-Free Kids. “The evidence is clear that increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, especially among kids. Research shows that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by six to seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.”

ACS CAN and Tobacco-Free Kids estimate that the $1.00 increase will save 32,200 lives in Pennsylvania and keep more than 48,100 kids from becoming addicted adult smokers. The tax increase is also expected to help more than 65,600 adult smokers in Pennsylvania to quit.

“This increase in the price of tobacco will not only save lives, but money too, said David Greineder, AHA government relations director. “Combined with at least $2.19 billion in long-term health care cost savings from the cigarette tax, the increases will have a tremendous positive impact both on the state budget and for health care consumers in Pennsylvania.”

“This year alone, more than 22,000 Pennsylvanians will die from cancer – one third of those deaths will be directly attributable to tobacco use,” stated Deborah Brown, ALA President and CEO in Pennsylvania. “These deaths are preventable by putting into place measures like this one, making tobacco products more difficult for kids to get their hands on and encouraging adults to quit. This increase is the right move for Pennsylvania and we look forward to the governor signing it into law and seeing it go into effect.”

We applaud the legislature’s decision to join the rest of the country by implementing a first-time tax on other tobacco products, such as smokeless and roll-your-own tobacco.  However, Pennsylvania missed an opportunity to fully protect residents from the health harms of tobacco by introducing the tax as a weight-based tax on smokeless, roll-your-own and not taxing cigars. Pennsylvania still remains one of only two states that does not tax cigars.

By failing to apply the same tax structure across all non-cigarette forms of tobacco based on their price at an equitable rate to cigarettes the legislature has created an uneven tax structure making some tobacco products comparatively cheaper than others.  This price discrepancy will make some products more appealing to price sensitive consumers including youth.  We supported the governor’s proposal to tax all non-cigarette forms of tobacco at 40 percent of wholesale as it is the simplest and most effective way to protect kids from the health harms of other tobacco products.

The use of tobacco products remains the number one cause of preventable death

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