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Conferees Agreement on Cigarette Tax Is a Step in the Right Direction News

Posted Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Senate and House conferees agreement to increase the cigarette tax to 68 cents is a win for Mississippi. While this proposal would retain the state far below the national average, this agreement is a step in the right direction. A 68 cent cigarette tax will provide much needed revenue for the state while leading to a reduction in youth smoking and general consumption.

“Mississippi cannot continue falling further behind other states on this issue,” said Roy Mitchell of the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program.  “This cigarette tax increase is an overdue investment that will lead to less smoking by our children and a healthier state.”

Communities for a Clean Bill of Health (CCBH), a statewide coalition of health organizations, has led the effort the increase the cigarette tax since 2002. CCBH urges the State Senate and House of Representatives to adopt a 68 cent cigarette tax and Governor Barbour to sign it into law.

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.

Lawmakers in both chambers must act now and pass this proposal. Mississippi cannot continue leaving money on the table. Each day lawmakers wait to pass a significant cigarette tax is a day Mississippi loses in lives and economic potential. Daily, 12 Mississippians are lost to smoking-related disease; 11 children lose out to newly formed smoking addictions; and hundreds of thousands in new revenue is lost by the state. Lawmakers cannot continue to put off the long-term financial and health needs of the state. 

Unchanged since 1985, Mississippi’s 18 cent cigarette tax is shamefully low. The conferees compromise is a first step in correcting a public health policy that is increasingly out of line with the rest of the nation.