Nebraska Revenue Committee Bill Fails to Address Tobacco Crisis
Statement from American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Nebraska Government Relations Director Megan Word
Denise Billings
Media Advocacy
Jackson
Legislators Urged to Protect Health of Mississippi Residents By Increasing Taxes on Tobacco
Increase Would Save Lives and Money in Mississippi
November 16, 2017
Patients, survivors, and concerned citizens gathered at the State Capitol today to urge lawmakers to stand up for the health of their constituents by increasing the price of tobacco products through a $1.50 per pack cigarette tax increase and parallel increase in the tax on other tobacco products. The event was held on the 41st anniversary of the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout and hosted by Invest in a Healthier Future, a coalition of more than 20 health organizations leading the effort to reduce the burden of tobacco use in Mississippi through an increase in the state’s tobacco tax.
“What started more than four decades ago as an event to get people to quit smoking for one day has now become a day to promote a way to save thousands of lives and prevent more young people from becoming addicted to these deadly products,” said Kimberly Hughes, Mississippi government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
Tobacco is the number one cause of preventable death nationwide. This year alone, an estimated 5,400 Mississippians will die from tobacco-related disease. The state legislature has the opportunity to help bring that number down by passing a significant tobacco tax increase to encourage current tobacco users to quit and prevent young people from ever becoming addicted to these deadly products.
“Tobacco tax increases save lives and reduce tobacco-related illnesses like cancer, heart disease and diabetes” said Ann Petermann, an American Lung Association volunteer, former smoker and lung cancer survivor currently living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). “Our legislators have a proven tool at their fingertips to help prevent illnesses related to tobacco and we strongly urge them to utilize it.”
Not only would a $1.50 per pack cigarette tax increase be good for public health, but it would benefit fiscal health as well. Increasing the cigarette tax by this amount will save an estimated $1.01 billion in long-term health care costs. And, by increasing the tax on other tobacco products to parallel levels at the same time, the combined new annual revenue from the cigarette and other tobacco products tax increases would be $200.61 million for the state. Mississippi currently spends $1.23 billion on tobacco-related health care costs each year and experiences $1.8 billion in lost productivity annually.
When asked in a recent poll about specific changes to the state’s tobacco tax, most Mississippians supported increasing the state cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and also increasing state taxes on tobacco
products other than cigarettes. Mississippians across political affiliations were also more likely to vote for a candidate that supports a state cigarette tax increase.
“As a public health professional, I would welcome an extra incentive from our legislators to help my patients take that important step to a healthier life,” Dr. Bill Grantham, Mississippi State Medical Association president. “A tobacco tax increase will truly save lives in Mississippi.”
About Invest in a Healthier Future
Invest in a Healthier Future is a broad-based coalition of organizations leading the effort to reduce the burden of tobacco use in Mississippi through an increase in the state’s tobacco tax. The campaign’s vision for the future is a healthier Mississippi with fewer children starting to smoke, more people who smoke quitting, and increased revenue for the state.
Partner organizations include American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association American Stroke Association, American Lung Association in Mississippi, Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids, Children’s Defense Fund Southern Regional, March of Dimes, Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, Mississippi Academy of Physician Assistants, Mississippi Chapter American College of Emergency Physicians, Mississippi Nurses Foundation, Mississippi Psychiatric Association, Mississippi Nurses Foundation, Mississippi Osteopathic Medical Association, Mississippi Public Health Association, Mississippi Public Health Institute, Mississippi Rural Health Association, Mississippi State Medical Association, Mississippi Society of Anesthesiologists, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of the Central Mississippi Area, The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, and Working Together Jackson.
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