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A national trade group has huffed and puffed for city leaders to reconsider the cigarette tax increase that went into effect this week.
The National Association of Tobacco Outlets sent a letter to City Council members asking them to revisit the tax. Councilman Bill DeSteph said "chances are" he would push the issue.
The increase, which started Tuesday, increased the per-pack tax on cigarettes to 61 cents from 50 cents, a 22 percent rise.
Thomas Briant, the trade association's executive director, said the city's decision to repeal a tax increase on machinery and tools - after Stihl Inc. and other manufacturers complained about that 90 percent increase - means the city should listen to tobacco outlets, too.
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At the launch of the new advertising campaign in Sydney on Saturday, NSW Assistant Health Minister Verity Firth said tobacco tax was a federal government issue and not something the state could control.
However, she said, higher taxes on cigarettes was something she would gladly discuss with her federal counterparts and, when pressed, said a tax hike would have positive outcomes.
"I don't want to put words into the federal government's mouth, but we do believe that the more expensive cigarettes are, the more difficult it is to smoke," Ms Firth told reporters in Sydney when asked her thoughts of the impact of higher taxes on smokers.
Massachusetts' leaders have taken historic action to protect the state's kids and taxpayers from the devastating toll of tobacco use by increasing the state cigarette tax by $1 to $2.51 per pack. This bringsMassachusetts to the third highest state cigarette tax in the nation. By supporting a high cigarette tax,Massachusetts legislators have taken commendable action that will improve the health ofMassachusetts residents for generations to come and continue the state's national leadership in the fight against tobacco use, the number one cause of preventable death inthe United States. Governor Deval Patrick is expected to sign the bill into law.
The $1 cigarette tax increase is a win-win-win solution forMassachusetts - a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will raise revenue to help alleviate budget shortfalls, and a political win that polls show is popular with the voters.
Let's preface this column with one clear-as-glass observation: Gov. Haley Barbour's die-in-the-ditch opposition to a cigarette tax increase as part of an overall Medicaid funding solution is one that is irrational both from public policy and political standpoints.
Barbour's unwavering protection of Big Tobacco from fair taxation throughout his tenure as governor - and the decision of Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and other Republicans in the Legislature to stand dutifully by and let him do it - will likely cost the GOP in the future.
But that said, House Democrats hung their hats on two pegs in the ongoing Medicaid fight and neither of them are currently viable options to fund Medicaid in either the short or long term. . . .
The criticism Barbour is receiving is justified criticism of his own making. But until the Legislature can kick their "one-time money" addiction for Medicaid funding, Barbour still holds the fiscal high ground on this issue - even while continuing to shield Big Tobacco.
Another smokers' paradise in Asia is disappearing as Japanese smokers face ever more restrictions in the nation's effort to join the global anti-smoking campaign. Japan used to be a smokers' haven with very few laws and restrictions. Commuters lit up on station platforms morning, noon and night. People smoked while strolling around and at work.
Cigarettes are available in vending machines and convenience stores on every street corner.
But since the United States spearheaded the global anti-smoking campaign, the former smoker's paradise has become uncomfortable for the 43.3 per cent of Japanese men and 12 per cent of women who smoke.
First, the price of cigarettes went up to an average 3 dollars per pack . . .
The ultimate blow to smokers takes effect throughout Japan in early July when the Tobacco Institute of Japan introduces an identification card called Taspo to buy cigarettes from vending machines.
Smoking rates among New York youth have reached their lowest mark in 20 years.
According to the state Health Department, 13.8 percent of teenagers smoke in the state, compared with the national rate of 20 percent in the most recent survey of high school students. Smoking among teens in the state has declined 58 percent since 1997, when 32.9 percent smoked.
While the rates continue to drop here, nationally they have leveled off at around 20 percent. Anti-smoking advocates cite three reasons for the state's success:
The high cigarette tax, now up to $2.75, which affects children with less discretionary money.
The state's 5-year-old Clean Indoor Air Act, which bans smoking from many public places, means children see fewer smokers.
A state-funded anti-smoking campaign that has been sustained for more than six years.
Sales in cigarettes were down by 12 percent or 750 million cigarettes during the first half of 2008.
This is the first significant drop in cigarette sales in Belgium.
There has also been a decrease in tobacco sales. Nearly 3,400 tonnes of tobacco were sold during the first six months of 2008. Tobacco sales are down 8.5 percent in comparison with 2007.
This is good news for Belgians' health but bad news for the treasury as they will lose out on VAT and duty worth EUR 35 million.
The Health Ministry identifies several factors that triggered the fall in sales: legislation banning smoking in restaurants and public places and 2007's price rise.
The attempt to raise the cigarette tax in an effort to reduce the cost of groceries also failed. It is evident, that as long as Haley Barbour is in office the tobacco industry can breathe easy. Unfortunately, he is beginning a second term. Barbour supporters remember who you voted for when when rural hospitals in your neighborhood layoff employees or possibly close allowing the poor of Mississippi to suffer.
The statewide cigarette tax increase of $1 went into effect yesterday, after passage in the Legislature late Monday and Gov. Deval L. Patrick's signature yesterday.
In January, the average nationwide price of a pack of cigarettes was $4.25, as reported by a study tracking state cigarette prices, but in Massachusetts, an average pack cost $5.41.
With the total tax now at $2.51, Massachusetts now has the third highest cigarette tax in the nation, behind New York and New Jersey. . . .
For smokers, the cigarette tax adds to the increasing cost of gas and other commodities. But lawmakers hope the new tax will cause consumers to quit smoking.
But some smokers won't quit.
maybe the day will come when the cost of cigarettes is so high, and/or the state's smokers become determined to kick the deadly habit, that the cigarette tax well will run dry.
Japan, long known for its smoker-friendly policies, is debating a substantial tax increase that could bring Tokyo in line with the U.S. and Europe.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's annual tax commission is expected to review a proposal by key lawmakers that could more than triple the retail price of a pack of cigarettes to about $10.
The backers of the higher tax are looking at the additional revenue as a way to cut Japan's ballooning budget deficit without taking the deeply unpopular move of raising its consumption tax.
Japan Tobacco Inc. and organizations representing tobacco farmers and stores on Tuesday jointly voiced opposition to a possible tobacco tax hike, arguing that higher tobacco prices would dampen consumption and not lead to increased tax revenue. . . .
"If the tax is hiked as it is proposed now, the impact on sales would be immeasurable," Yamada said. He added that given an expected slump in tobacco sales in the case of a sharp tax hike, the government would not be able to raise tobacco tax revenues as much as it anticipates.
To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, the rich are different from you and me. They can afford to live in Massachusetts.
In the past 24 hours, Gov. Deval Patrick, also known as "Friend Of The Little Man," has signed two pieces of legislation that will make it even harder for low-income locals to remain in the Bay State. ... The other low blow to low-income residents is the cigarette tax increase that, in an "only in Massachusetts" moment, took effect 24 hours before it become law, so as not to miss a single cent of sin tax.
It wasn't very long ago at all - just a few short years, in fact when it was perfectly legal to light up a cigarette in just about any restaurant in Massachusetts. Not perfectly sensible, of course, but legal. While that might seem not a little odd when looked at from today's smoke-free environment, rewinding the tape just a bit more reveals pictures that can only be called astonishing:
People smoking in their offices. People smoking on busses and even on airplanes. People smoking in elevators. People smoking everywhere and at every turn.
Back to the present.
Massachusetts just increased the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1, to $2.51. The reasons for this are twofold:
Some will quit, others will go out of state to get their cigarettes and others will shrug their shoulders and make tough choices as money gets tight. But one thing is certain: Smokers are not happy about the $1-a-pack tax hike on cigarettes. ... The Legislature passed the cigarette tax increase on Monday, and Gov. Deval Patrick signed it into law Tuesday, raising the state's cigarette tax from $1.51 a pack to $2.51 a pack. Now Massachusetts has the third highest cigarette tax in the country, behind New York and New Jersey.