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Now that it appears we're going to get the money needed so those 29 Utah Highway Patrol troopers won't have to be laid off, and those 213 prison inmates won't have to be released early, and that juvenile court judge in St. George can be hired, and the drivers' license bureaus can open on Fridays, and any number of the state's health and social services can be funded, I thought it only appropriate to thank the people who will be paying for it.
And let me tell you, they're not exactly saying, "You're welcome."
I'm at Tobacco Max, a smoke shop on State Street. If it involves tobacco, this is the place. The store is wall-to-wall stuff you can smoke. Wallpaper by Marlboro.
By midmorning Friday, the news that the state Legislature just voted for a dollar-a-pack cigarette tax increase — the basis for the projected $44 million that will pay for all of the above — has filtered into the shop. . . .
Tobacco taxes not only target a minority of the public, he says, but they target the poor over the rich.
For evidence, he explains that he consistently delivers 65 percent of his tobacco to the west side of the freeway that dissects the valley, with just 35 percent going to the more affluent east side.
"That tells you who will mostly be paying this tax," he says.
Unless, miracle of miracles, they all quit, which will put us back to square one.
In the meantime, the least we can do, as they dig that lint out of their pockets, is thank them for their generosity.
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Here we go again. It's the annual struggle to convince a couple of powerfully positioned people that the tax on tobacco products should be raised because:
1. The directed use of the plant kills people.
2. The regular use of the substance harms innocent people around them, especially children.
3. The current tax is far below the national average and the levels of the states around us. .. .
Every year we go through this exercise, wasting time and energy on both sides. Voters in favor of a hike have to get out and tell their representatives to support it. Lobbyists have to do their stuff. Let's just pass the darned raise and get on with it. The world will not stop spinning, and the universe will continue to expand.
Why must we torture ourselves with this failure of leadership to do the right thing for the many right reasons? Do we have to inhale it any longer?
If I were a tobacco industry executive:
I'd make a product widely known to cause disease and then convince people that it's their own fault they got sick.
I'd make people think they were choosing to smoke, but when your customers are addicted it makes marketing easy.
I'd keep tobacco taxes low so that consumers can go on cheaply killing themselves, padding my wallet as they do.
I'd market to children, the poor and the disadvantaged. Since the government won't protect them, they're easy targets. . . .
I'd hire a team of lawyers to circle like vultures outside the Utah House and Senate chambers to ensure that profits are always put ahead of health.
I'd meet with and make campaign contributions to legislators. When they vote the way I want, I'd call it a coincidence.
I'd have money, power and influence, and absolutely no one could stop me.
A Davis County lawmaker says the threat of a lawsuit from the tobacco industry will not deter him from completing legislation to ban flavored smokeless tobacco products.
Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, sponsored the legislative ban, which awaits a final vote in the Senate.
Ray on Friday called the products nicotine candy and said he wants to keep them out of the hands of children and young people.
The products -- not yet available in Utah -- have various flavors and often combine candy shapes with nicotine.
The Utah Legislature has given final approval to a $1 per pack increase to the state's cigarette tax, sending the measure to Gov. Gary Herbert, whose opposition to a tax increase this session will be tested.
Sen. Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, who has been fighting for years to raise Utah's cigarette tax, said he can't speak for the governor, but he expects he'll sign the legislation.
"Of course he'll sign it. He watches out for the best interest of the state, and this is in the best interest of the state," Christensen said.
Nicotine and candy don't mix, no matter what big tobacco thinks or threatens, Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who has proposed a ban on new nicotine-laced gum and mints, said Friday in response to a threat by a tobacco company to file suit to stop him.
Altria has targeted him for targeting nicotine products in HB71, which has passed the House and is pending in the Senate.
The restrictions on nicotine products and flavored smokeless tobacco are a direct hit to big tobacco's survival and its biggest marketing plan that is designed to get a new generation of tobacco users who have understood more than any previous one the hazards of smoking, Ray said.
"Now they need to try to keep going by doping candy with the most addictive and deadly substance in tobacco," he said. "Utah has made a point of protecting our youth from the hazards of tobacco use, and now that they are targeting a new market with lozenges and mints, we think that's going to far."
The threat to sue the state over HB71, if it passes, is an attempt to scare the Legislature and continue with their strategy of going after kids, although the effort won't find any traction, because states are allowed under federal and state law to ban products it deems dangerous or a threat to the health of its residents.
The new commercial, which has already started to air, is called "Target." It is a frenetic montage of modern and vintage footage. Dark images are juxtaposed against brighter images of everyday places where the tobacco industry targets youth, like concerts, school parking lots and skate parks.
The campaign intends to reach youth who are at the greatest risk for smoking with a clear, persuasive, impactful message that helps them understand how Big Tobacco tries to manipulate them.
The ads are intended to be hard-hitting, serious, and a bit disturbing because research shows these tactics are the most effective in preventing youth smoking.
The Utah Legislature has taken decisive action to protect the state's kids and taxpayers from the devastating toll of tobacco use by increasing the state cigarette tax by $1.00 to $1.70 per pack. Increased tobacco taxes are a win-win-win solution for Utah -- health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will help to balance the state budget and fund essential programs, and a political win that polls show is popular with the voters. We look forward to Governor Gary Herbert signing this legislation into law.
The evidence is clear that increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among kids.
The tax on a pack of cigarettes would increase by about $1 under a bill approved by the Utah Senate.
The proposal from Sen. Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, that passed Thursday would hike the tobacco tax from 69.5 cents a pack to roughly $1.70.
The average state tobacco tax is $1.34 per pack, according to the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative.
Christensen's proposal passed by a vote of 20-9, sending it to the H
The tax on a pack of cigarettes would increase by about $1 under a bill passed by the Utah House.
The proposal by Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, would up the tobacco tax from 69.5 cents a pack to roughly $1.70. The average state tobacco tax is $1.34 per pack, according to the National Tobacco Cessation Collaborative.
Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 39-35 to send House Bill 196 to the Senate. A similar bill that nearly triples the tax was voted down in a Senate committee recently but could come back.
Gov. Gary Herbert has said he opposes any tax increases, but hasn't promised to veto any.
Preventing the disease, premature death and health care expenses that smoking cause is a worthwhile thing to do.
The down side of this tax increase is that it is so selective. Only about 9 percent of Utahns smoke, so passing an added tax burden to them is hardly equitable. Smokers also tend to be less well off financially, so piling on new tobacco tax also is regressive. Both of these are additional reasons to moderate the tax hike the House has passed.
If it causes smokers to kick the habit, though, the tax hike would be worth it.
The Utah Senate plans to debate two bills on Thursday that would increase the state's tobacco tax.
Utah's tax per pack of cigarettes is now 69.5 cents.
Utah House members voted Tuesday to raise the state tobacco tax by $1 a pack, the estimated $43 million going to offset budget cuts that GOP leaders say few want.
"If we pass this, it will likely pass the Senate, too," House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, told his 53-member GOP caucus earlier in the afternoon.
GOP Senate leaders, however, disagreed over whether a tobacco tax increase was backed during Tuesday's closed-door caucus, an indication of just how split they are on the issue.
Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said the caucus agreed to pass an increase. Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, said they didn't.
"We're not there yet," Waddoups said.
A bill that would in effect extend Utah's Clean Air Act to the inside of a car carrying children has cleared committee review but not controversy.
HB82, would make smoking tobacco in a car with a child under age 8 on board a ticketable secondary traffic offense carrying a $45 fee.
The proposal, nearly identical to legislation that in previous years was approved in the House only to fail in the Senate, is a no-brainer to anti-tobacco advocates and public health workers. To opponents, including a majority of Utah lawmakers, it amounts to "government-knows-best" meddling in the lives of private citizens.
If you're a parent who drives and smokes, you may not be legally able to do it for much longer. Monday, state lawmakers are considering a bill which would ban smoking when driving with young children.
House Bill 82 looks to ban smoking for drivers with children in the car, under eight years old, who need to be buckled into car seat or booster seat. If passed, drivers who get caught smoking with kids in the car, could get a ticket with a fine of $45.