Tobacco Facts.

The American Cancer Society, Florida Division, is committed to educating Floridians about the facts surrounding the importance of increasing Florida’s cigarette tax by one dollar.

There are several simple facts for immediate consideration:
• Florida’s current cigarette excise tax is 33.9-cents, ranking 46th in the nation. The last increase was in 1990.
• Raising the cigarette tax reduces the number of smokers, including teen smokers — 175,000 Floridians will quit smoking. As seen in studies, for every 10 percent increase in price, smoking goes down 4 percent.
• Florida’s Medicaid costs related to tobacco/smoking-related illnesses are $1.3 billion per year. Yet, the state currently only brings in $440 million from taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
• In 2007, 1.2 billion packs of cigarettes were sold in Florida. By adding a $1 excise tax on cigarettes, Florida will generate an estimated $700 million to $1 billion in new revenues for the state.

There are some misunderstandings about the tax increase that can confuse people about the true benefits of this action to the state. To set the record straight, here are the myths and facts about the proposed cigarette tax increase.

MYTH: Cigarette tax increases are regressive and hurtful to lower-income smokers.

FACTS: Because lower-income communities suffer disproportionately from smoking-related diseases, it is actually the harms from smoking that are regressive.
•Raising the cigarette tax will reduce those harms and costs to both lower-income smokers and their families, by encouraging more of these smokers to quit or cutback.  Studies have shown that lower-income smokers are more likely to quit because of tax increases than higher-income smokers.
•For the average smoker who quits, the potential savings are more than $2,100 annually.
•Polls have shown strong support for tobacco tax increases among lower-income communities.

MYTH: The cigarette tax increase unfairly targets smokers and makes them shoulder the burden for statewide budget problems.

FACTS: Even the most conservative estimates of the state’s burden for smoking-related healthcare costs are far greater than the income a state receives from cigarette taxes.
•After any state cigarette tax increase, the tax per pack, will still be far less than what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) estimates is the state’s smoking-related healthcare costs per pack (the national average is $7.18 per pack).

MYTH: Cigarette tax increases do not provide a reliable source of future state revenue.

FACTS: After an increase, state cigarette tax revenues sharply increase and then slowly decline because of state smoking declines — but those declines will be gradual and completely predictable. There will be no surprises.
•State tobacco tax revenues are more predictable and stable than state income tax or corporate tax revenues, which can decline sharply because of unexpected economic recessions. This is exactly the case in Florida now.
•As the cigarette tax revenue declines slowly along with the number of smokers, the state will benefit from reduced healthcare costs associated with smoking-related diseases. Over time, these savings will more than make up for any cigarette tax revenue reductions.

MYTH: Cigarette tax increases will promote cigarette smuggling, black markets, and smoker tax avoidance, which will eliminate state revenue gains.

FACTS: The increased new revenue the state receives on each pack sold in the state greatly outweighs the revenue losses from fewer packs being sold.
•States can take easy steps to maximize new cigarette tax revenues by minimizing pre-increase hoarding and related revenue problems.

MYTH: Cigarette tax increases do not reduce youth smoking (or any smoking).

FACTS: Cigarette companies have repeatedly asserted and acknowledged, both publicly and in internal company documents disclosed in tobacco lawsuits, that raising cigarette prices through state tobacco tax increases or other means significantly reduces smoking, especially among kids and lower-income communities.
•That fact is also well established by scientific research and by the actual experiences of states that have raised their tax.

When the facts are studied, it’s clear that a $1 excise tax on cigarettes in Florida will have a positive impact on the state’s economy and the public’s health: by reducing tobacco consumption, reducing the state’s healthcare costs from tobacco-related diseases, and generating significant funding to invest in the state’s healthcare system.

© Copyright: Thedestinlog

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