A bill has been proposed recently to the Legislature that could improve the financial status of Mississippi and the health of Mississippians. It targets smoking.
The proposed bill is a 25-cent cigarette tax increase. If passed, this bill would increase the current cigarette tax from 18 cents a pack to 43 cents a pack. Even at 43 cents, the tax would fall below the national average.
A cigarette tax would not only lower smoking rates and therefore lower health risks associated with secondhand smoke, but also generate much needed revenue for the state.
The Question It anti-smoking campaign, sponsored by the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, has proven that counter-advertising works in stopping middle school and high school students from using tobacco with significant decreases in teen tobacco use. A cigarette tax would aid the group’s campaign in stopping underage tobacco use.
In 1992, Massachusetts implemented a 25-cent cigarette tax increase in conjunction with a mass-media counter-advertising campaign. In the following five years, per capita cigarette consumption in Massachusetts fell 19.7 percent.
If the cigarette tax bill passes, Mississippi will find itself in almost the exact position that Massachusetts was in 10 years ago, and can expect a marked reduction in cigarette consumption.
The tax would also give incentive for adult smokers to quit–seven out of 10 say that they would like to quit anyway.
Every year, 38,000 people die from heart disease and lung cancer associated with secondhand smoke. Those 38,000 are people who choose not to smoke. A reduction in overall cigarette consumption would also be a reduction in secondhand smoke-related deaths.
Another immediate benefit of a higher cigarette tax would be the generated revenue: $67 million would go almost wholly to fund education. Mississippi State students have felt the repercussions of budget cuts in the form of tuition hikes, crowded classrooms and teachers leaving to pursue higher paying jobs.
Not only would the tax-generated money directly aid Mississippi schools, education levels have been directly linked to success rates among quitting smokers. As more people were given the opportunity to pursue higher education, more people would become aware of the many benefits of quitting smoking.
A smoker might be heard saying that a tax increase places an unfair burden on them. Even with a 25-cent increase, Mississippi would still be behind the national average of 45 cents per pack. Washington state has an excise tax of $1.43 per pack.
The case for a cigarette tax increase is clear-cut. Mississippians are once again being offered the chance to catch up with the rest of the nation’s progress.
Unless the legislature takes action, Mississippians will continue to lead the nation in neglected health and a high poverty rate. A cigarette tax increase desperately needs to be realized as a positive move for the benefit of Mississippi.
Josh Foreman is a junior communication major.