Lift the health of its coalition welcome Senator Carl Nelson (R - 30) and Representative Mike Benson (R - 30B), for the opening of the legislation today that would raise cigarette prices by $ 1.29 per pack and increase the tax on non-cigarette tobacco products up to 95 percent of their wholesale price. It is believed that this price increase will prevent more than 35,000 children in Minnesota have become addicted adult smokers and to help more than 26,000 Minnesota adults quit smoking.
“Tobacco prices for the benefit of all of Minnesota,” said David Willoughby, CEO of ClearWay Minnesota, the state non-profit that works to reduce the harm of tobacco. “In conjunction with education and access to services of smoking, a strong policy measures such as price increases on tobacco proven best practices to help smokers quit and prevent young people from the beginning.”
Raising cigarette prices by $ 1.29 would bring the total tax to $ 2.52, in conjunction with the current excise tax and the impact on the health of Minnesota’s fee. The increase also will raise about $ 320 million of new state revenues over the next biennium.
Each year in Minnesota, the tobacco industry spends more than $ 150 million on advertising and marketing, and continues to disproportionately target youth and ethnic groups. However, the impact of tobacco prices, which is the reason why many countries have increased tobacco, taxes in recent years as part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce the harm of tobacco. Current tax on Minnesota on cigarette packs cost $ 1.23 and is the 27th among all states.
The harm tobacco does not discriminate and it remains one of the major public health problems:
• Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in Minnesota, killing more than 5,100 Minnesota each year.
• Smoking is only Minnesota’s nearly $ 3 billion a year higher than the cost of health care.
• After a decade of sharp decline in tobacco use among young people, the progress is stagnating.
• New smokeless tobacco products are growing in popularity with one of the seven students reporting having tried snus.
• Although the FDA has recently prohibited candy and other flavored cigarettes, over a quarter of students report that they have tried cigars, flavored cigars, and a little - products that are exempt from the flavor ban.
“Higher prices for tobacco products is one of the best ways to reduce smoking and to keep these deadly products out of reach of young people,” said Matt Shafer, Minnesota State Government Relations Director of the American Cancer Society. “The increase in tobacco prices will prevent a new generation to become tobacco, cut costs and save lives.”
For more information about Pick’s health coalition, go to www.raiseitforhealth.org.
Pick it up for health is a coalition of leading health of Minnesota, and nonprofit organizations that share the common goal of reducing tobacco consumption. More than 5100 Minnesota continue to die from tobacco-related diseases annually, and tobacco continues to be one of the main factors increasing costs of public health. Raise his health supports a significant increase in the price of tobacco products in Minnesota, because it is a proven way that children begin to use tobacco and help current tobacco users to quit.
