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Massive Tobacco Tax Increase by Congress Spells Even More Economic Disaster for Jobs and State Economies 

EDITOR'S NOTE: To see how much money your state stands to lose if the federal excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco products is increased, please see the included chart.

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- In an urgent message to Congress and President-Elect Barack Obama, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) and two other national wholesale trade associations have taken out an ad warning of "economic disaster" for state economies and American jobs should tobacco taxes be raised to fund the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

"The politicians in Washington who are pushing for a punitive 156 percent increase in cigarette taxes and even higher tax increases on other tobacco products will exacerbate the current deep recession through the loss of up to 117,000 union and non-union jobs and at least $1.8 billion annually in lost revenues for the states," said Tom Briant, NATO's executive director.

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