[Verbatim from Communities for a Clean Bill of Health]
A coalition of Mississippi public health leaders called on the Legislature (yesterday) to stop delaying and approve an 82-cent increase in the state cigarette tax passed two months ago by the House of Representatives. If the Legislature refuses to take action, it risks more kids smoking, more Mississippians dying from smoking, and more lost revenue that could be used for critical state programs.
Since the House approved increasing the tax to $1 on January 16:
• More than 2,279 kids under 18 have tried cigarettes for the first time
• More than 678 kids have become new regular, daily smokers
• More than 759 Mississippians have died from smoking
• Forfeited $5.9 million in new revenue that would have been generated by the 82-cent increase
Each day lawmakers delay passing a $1 cigarette tax, 12 Mississippians die from smoking-related disease; 11 children become regular, daily smokers; and the state loses $369,000 in critical new revenue.
Lawmakers cannot continue to put off the state's health needs in lieu of one time monies from the recently approved federal stimulus package - funds that ultimately won't cover the long-term costs of running the state. While the stimulus bill provides substantial assistance to the states, the amount of funding Mississippi and other states will receive for current activities amounts to less than half of projected state budget deficits, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. States will still have significant budget gaps to close on their own.
"Mississippi needs a $1 cigarette tax now," said Roy Mitchell of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program. "It's a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a fiscal win that will raise much needed revenue, and a political win that is incredibly popular with Mississippi voters."
Communities for a Clean Bill of Health, a statewide coalition of health organizations and individuals, is urging lawmaker to stop delaying and pass a $1 cigarette tax now. The coalition includes the Mississippi affiliates of AARP, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the American Academy of pediatrics, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, the Children's Defense Fund, the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, the Mississippi Hospital Association, the Mississippi Nurses Association, the March of Dimes, and the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi.
Large bodies of economic research, numerous expert panels, experience in other states, and even reports from the tobacco industry have concluded decisively that price increases effectively reduce smoking, especially among youth. The U.S. Surgeon General concluded that raising cigarette taxes is widely regarded as one of the most effective tobacco prevention strategies and that such increases would lead to "substantial long-run improvements in health."
Mississippi can expect a $1 per pack cigarette tax to prevent some 32,100 Mississippi children alive today from becoming addicted adult smokers; produce more than $747 million in long-term health care savings; and raise more than $151 million in new revenue each year, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
"The evidence is clear that increasing the price of cigarettes is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among children and pregnant women," said Shannon Coker of the Mississippi Hospital Association.
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