I am pleased to share with you that U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced a bill last week that would eliminate disparities in the federal tax rates for various tobacco products, a proposal that will increase federal revenues and save lives. The Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2012 equalizes tax rates on all tobacco products, including pipe tobacco, cigars and smokeless tobacco. Lower federal tax rates on these products than on cigarette tax rate have harmed public health by encouraging use of lower-taxed tobacco products, and cost federal and state governments more than $1 billion in revenue since 2009. Why is this the case? When the federal cigarette tax was last increased in 2009, it also set the tax rate for small cigars and roll-your-own cigarettes at the same level. However, larger cigars, smokeless tobacco and pipe tobacco remain taxed at dramatically lower rates than cigarettes, making them more affordable to youth and spawning widespread tax avoidance by Big Tobacco. In particular, we continue to see roll-your-own tobacco falsely labeled as pipe tobacco, and small cigar manufacturers have shifted to lower-taxed products. This is not only detrimental to health, but to government revenues as well. A recent study by the CDC found that the relabeling of roll-your-own tobacco as pipe tobacco cost federal and state governments $1.3 billion in revenue from April 2009 to August 2011. Sen. Durbin's bill would fix these disparities by increasing taxes on under-taxed tobacco products so they are equal to the cigarette tax rate. Among other steps, it would:
The evidence is clear that raising tobacco prices through higher taxes is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use, especially among children. I saw a study released last week which found that just two months after going into effect, the 2009 federal cigarette tax increase reduced the number of youth smokers by at least 220,000 and youth smokeless users by 135,000 another example that increasing the price of these deadly products suppresses consumption. Sens. Durbin, Lauthenberg and Blumenthal have taken an important step toward reducing the toll of tobacco on our nation. ACS CAN, along with our partner organizations, strongly support this legislation that will save lives. *Photo retrieved from: http://bit.ly/L3v5b7
Today’s blog is one of a series of posts highlighting how ACS CAN is examining, prioritizing and pursuing policy interventions that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to prevent, find, treat and survive cancer. Achieving health equity in communities nationwide is a cornerstone of our mission.