Missouri to vote on raising lowest tobacco taxes in the US

Missouri’s cigarette tax is the lowest in the nation, and that has some people doing a slow burn. At 17 cents per pack, Missouri’s tax is nearly half as much as the next lowest and well below the $1.49 national average. In Kansas, the tax is 79 cents a pack. All that could change on Nov. 6, however, when voters get another chance to decide whether to raise the tax to 90 cents per pack and make Missouri’s cigarette tax the 33rd highest in the country. If it wins approval, Proposition B is projected to generate $283 million to $423 million a year in additional tobacco tax revenue, which would be directed to a fund aimed at K-12 schools, higher education and smoking cessation programs.

“Raising the tobacco tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking rates and prevent our youth from ever starting,” said Misty Snodgrass, government relations director for the American Cancer Society. “It’s also a revenue win for our underfunded public schools and universities.” But opponents argue Proposition B would hurt sales tax revenue for state and local government and drive business to neighboring states. “This would put small businesses in Kansas City at a disadvantage, which is horrific public policy,” said Ron Leone, who is running the opposition’s campaign for the Missouri Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association PAC.

Voters rejected tobacco tax hikes in 2002 and 2006. Both years, the nation’s biggest tobacco companies spent millions to oppose the increase. But this time around, those same companies have said they are sitting out the campaign. “Big Tobacco is standing down this year because they support Proposition B. They support it because it reduces their competition,” Leone explained. That’s because in addition to increasing taxes on tobacco products, Proposition B also would eliminate a pricing advantage that off-brand cigarette companies currently have in Missouri.

In 1998, Missouri was one of 46 states that entered into a legal agreement with cigarette makers forcing them to pay into a state fund to help cover the cost of smoking-related diseases. Companies that didn’t sign the agreement still pay into the fund, but through a loophole in the law get their money back at the end of each year. Missouri is the only state that hasn’t closed the loophole. “This ballot initiative eliminates a loophole in the law that has created an uneven playing field for cigarette manufacturers and retailers in Missouri,” said Bryan Hatchell, a spokesman for Reynolds American Inc., a major manufacturer of tobacco products. “Primarily for this reason, Reynolds American Inc. has no plans to oppose the Missouri ballot initiative.”

Leone said the passage of Proposition B would mean off-brand cigarettes could cost customers as much as 57 cents more per pack, in addition to the new increased tax. “In one fell swoop, Big Tobacco can reduce or eliminate their competition,” Leone said. Money for schools Snodgrass said the decision to use the additional revenue generated by the proposed tax increase for public schools and higher education is a key difference from previous efforts and a big reason why supporters are so optimistic it will succeed this time. “We know that Missourians support their local public schools,” she said. If passed, the additional revenue would be put into the Health and Education Trust Fund, where 50 percent would go to K-12 schools, 30 percent to higher education and 20 percent to tobacco use prevention and quit assistance programs. Supporters estimate that the higher tax could result in millions in additional funding for area school districts, including nearly $3 million for North Kansas City, $2.7 million for Lee’s Summit and $2.3 million for Kansas City.

Leone, however, questions whether the additional revenue will actually translate into higher funding levels. Lawmakers have a history of using new revenue streams to justify cuts in other state appropriations, he said. “Even if this brought in $300 million for schools, it doesn’t guarantee the money that is currently appropriated for schools is going to stay there,” he said. “The budget is a big shell game, and what goes in the front door can just as easily go right out the back door.” Snodgrass said proponents would be vigilant to ensure the additional revenue is spent in line with how voters intended. “The coalition behind this initiative will be a constant presence in Jefferson City to remind legislators of the voters’ intent and ensure accountability for its implementation,” she said. In addition to new revenue, Snodgrass said fewer Missourians smoking will also save the state millions of dollars a year.

Medicaid costs associated with tobacco-related disease cost taxpayers $532 million annually, she said. Each pack of cigarettes sold in Missouri “costs our economy $12.68 in lost productivity and preventable health care expenses,” she added. “The low tobacco tax in Missouri costs the state dearly in state tax dollars, in lost productivity, in preventable disease and in premature deaths.” Impact on local business Leone called the increased tax “outrageous and unfair.” The real impact of the 90-cent per pack tax would be loss of business, and ultimately jobs, at stores along the state’s borders. “For some reason we’re embarrassed for being the lowest cigarette tax, even though that brings a tremendous amount of business into this state,” he said. A study commissioned by Leone’s organization and performed by Joseph Haslag, an economist at the University of Missouri, found that, if estimates are correct, Proposition B would result in 157 million fewer packs of cigarettes sold in Missouri every year. That would mean the amount collected in sales and other state and local taxes would decrease by $67 million. Haslag’s study predicts that would translate to $1.4 million in lost sales taxes for Kansas City and $824,000 for Jackson County.

 “That’s why this isn’t just about smokers,” Leone said. “That’s why everyone has skin in this game. Our state and local governments are going to lose revenue if this measure passes.” Snodgrass called that argument “fatally flawed” She said it presumes that with a decrease in smoking, none of the money currently spent on cigarettes will make its way back into the local economy and countered that tobacco use in the state costs an estimated $565 per household in public expenditures. “They are trying to convince voters that Missouri’s economy is only competitive because we sell deadly, addictive products cheaper than our neighbors,” she said. “That’s just a false argument. The harm caused by tobacco products is currently subsidized by all Missourians.” Leone said his organization is not opposed to any tax increase on tobacco. He said he spoke in favor of legislation that would have nearly doubled the tax to 33 cents per pack earlier this year, but the bill never gained traction. “For anyone to say we’re against all tax increases is ridiculous,” he said. “We’re just against any tax increase that puts us at a competitive disadvantage with our neighboring states.”

Congressman who compared cigarettes to smoking lettuce becomes lobbyist for R.J. Reynolds

A former 18-year member of Congress who was a longtime friend of the tobacco industry while in office has become a paid consultant and registered lobbyist for tobacco giant Reynolds American. Steve Buyer, a Republican congressman from Indiana from 1993 to 2011, had been the beneficiary of over $100,000 in Reynolds donations over the years and pushed the company's legislative goals. In 2009, he gave a famously colorful speech on the House floor endorsing smokeless tobacco: "You could have smoked that lettuce and you still end up with the same problems.

You could cut the grass in your yard, dry it, and roll it up in a cigarette, and smoke it — and you're still going to have a lot of problems," he said. "It is the smoke that kills, not the nicotine." Buyer revealed the new job for Reynolds American in little-noticed testimony Sept.19 before the Indiana General Assembly's Health Finance Commission. A federal disclosure filing shows that Buyer and his former chief of staff, Mike Copher, registered to lobby for a Reynolds American subsidiary called RAI Services as of the beginning of September.

(Buyer became a lobbyist immediately after leaving Congress in 2011, with a health care company his first client.) At the Indiana hearing, Buyer said he is working as "an advocate of Harm Reduction Strategies" for Reynolds American, according to his prepared remarks. "To be an agent of change you can do it from the outside and attack tobacco manufacturers like many anti-tobacco organizations do or you can do it from the inside," he said. "I have chosen to be an agent of change from the inside." Buyer argued that the public is being "misinformed by the public health community about risks presented by tobacco in its various forms."

He disputed statements by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that smokeless tobacco — which include chewing tobacco and snuff — is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. The CDC says smokeless tobacco products "can cause cancer, oral health problems, and nicotine addiction." Messages to Buyer's lobbying firm, where Copher is now a partner, were not returned. Reynolds American declined to comment. In the face of declining U.S. cigarette consumption rates, Reynolds American has been aggressively marketing smokeless tobacco products such as its Grizzly and Kodiak snuff lines.

Buyer has long been an advocate of smokeless tobacco and an ally of Reynolds American. The company gave $132,500 overall to Buyer's campaign committee, political action committee, and private foundation between 1997 and 2009, public filings show. More than $80,000 of that came Buyer's way in 2008-9 when proposed stricter tobacco regulations were before Congress and had to make it through the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, on which Buyer sat. Buyer led the charge against the bill, which gave the FDA the power to regulate tobacco and was ultimately signed into law by President Obama in 2009.

Buyer had offered an amendment that would have delayed implementation of the law for up to 10 years, Congressional Quarterly reported at the time.The amendment failed. He then offered an alternative bill, backed by Reynolds American, that would have had fewer restrictions and created a new Tobacco Harm Reduction Center in the Department of Health and Human Services instead of giving the FDA the power to regulate tobacco. Buyer's bill, which also touted smokeless tobacco products, failed in a House vote.

Tobacco Trust Fund Commission awards county $100,000

Yadkin County is a step closer to its goal of an agricultural center and conference room. The county received a $100,000 grant from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to help with the construction of the center. According to its Web site, the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission was created by the General Assembly in 2000 to help soften the financial impact to farmers and tobacco-related businesses caused by the sharp decline of tobacco in the agricultural economy.

The Web site states, the commission’s funding from a set appropriation of monies paid by cigarette manufacturers under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement to the state. Since 2002 the commission has awarded grants to public and nonprofit agencies that meet the goals of strengthening the rural and tobacco-dependent economies of North Carolina. This year the commission announced just over $2 million for a total of 19 grants relating to agricultural and economic projects across the state.

Yadkin County applied for the grant to help towards building the agricultural center and conference room. The county applied for $355,000 and was awarded $100,000. “It gets us closer to the goal of building the center using the least amount of county tax dollars as possible,” said Aaron Church, county manager. “Pending the contract it certainly gets us closer to where we need to be to move forward.” Church said that the county has also applied for grants with The Golden Leaf Foundation.

 “We were turned down the first time around but I met with Golden Leaf representatives and discussed how we could strengthen our application before the deadline on Nov. 1,” Church said. “We’ve also talked to the USDA but they had already spent their community building project money for the year so that’s something we’ll have to follow up on next year.” Church said that the community college has started a soft capital campaign and that this campaign will probably gain momentum if construction for the project is voted on by commissioners in the future. Church said that it is unclear if any progress will begin if the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission grant is contracted.

He said that the commissioners will need to review the contract and allow him to sign on before the money with be at the county’s disposal and that he will need to meet with the commission’s representatives to learn what exactly the money can be used towards. “We’re very grateful for this grant,” Church said. “It’s a tough environment for grants. Getting a grant to build a building in this economic environment is very, very difficult. We didn’t hire professional grant writers to get this grant. The grant was written by the county staff and commissioners.

A lot of farmer’s read and reviewed our application to help us include what we needed to get this money.” If the agricultural center comes to fruition the plans are to build it on land behind the Surry Community College Yadkin Center. The agricultural center will feature a 300-person conference room, a smaller conference room, office space for agriculture departments for the county, state and federal levels and classroom space for the Yadkin Early College and Surry Community College. The site will also feather a commercial kitchen and a school cafeteria.

 The center will house offices for Foreign Agricultural Services, a subdivision of the USDA, Yadkin County Soil and Water, Natural Resources Conservation Service and NC State University’s Cooperative Extension offices. These offices are currently located in an older building on Elm Street in Yadkinville. Once the center is built and these offices are moved the county must make some necessary renovations to the old building and other offices will be moved there. The Yadkin County Farm Bureau has already given a commitment of $50,000 towards the project, the Yadkin County Dairy and Livestock Association has given a written commitment of $28,000, and the Yadkin County Extension and Community Association has designated $5,000 for the center. Read more: Yadkin Ripple - Tobacco Trust Fund Commission awards county 100 000

SMH campus going tobacco-free

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Lisa Rickmond may have found a way to quit smoking. A registered nurse at Southampton Memorial Hospital, Rickmond will have to leave the grounds to smoke when the hospital campus goes tobacco-free on Nov. 8. “I’m leaning toward trying to quit,” the 49-year-old Franklin woman said. “It’s about time. I’ve smoked since I was 13.” The ban means visitors and employees can no longer light up on the grounds, which includes the parking lots that serve the hospital, four medical offices and East Pavilion nursing home, said Anne Williams, director of marketing. Smoking is already prohibited inside all buildings.

The ban also will include the areas of Courtland Medical Center and Total Family Care next to Belk department store off Armory Drive in Franklin. To help the estimated 10 percent of the hospital’s 425 employees who smoke, a free smoking-cessation program will be offered to them and their families, Williams said. Rickmond plans to participate. “I plan to take advantage of every tool,” she said. “Being a long-term smoker, I know it’s going to be a challenge.”

 An April study labeling Franklin as one of the least healthy localities in Virginia inspired the ban, Williams said. The study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute ranked Franklin 127th out of 131 cities and counties in health outcomes. The results were attributed to high unemployment and poverty rates. The study indicated that 22 percent of Franklin residents smoke, which is 3 percentage points higher than the state average. “It makes sense for us to be the leader in a community to make people healthier,” Williams said. “We are the health care provider of the community.”

 The hospital will provide free nicotine patches to employees and tobacco-cessation counselors. Nicotine gum and lozenges will be offered to visitors and employees, she said. Employees currently smoke in their cars, parking lots and outside the hospital where benches and ashtrays are provided, Williams said. Rickmond, the clinical coordinator for the medical surgical floor, goes to her car to smoke for privacy. “Smoking has always been kind of a conflict for me personally,” she said. “I’m a pretty open considerate smoker, but you want to live what you teach.”

 “I’ve smoked for a lot of years and don’t get the same enjoyment,” Rickmond continued said. “It’s very expensive and I’m in the minority now. My lifestyle is leaning toward healthier choices, exercise and diet.” “(If they want to smoke) they will have to be off our property,” Williams said. “Certainly, we discourage them to walk to the street or stand on someone else’s property. We are really trying to encourage our staff to take this opportunity to become healthier and give them the tools they need to quit smoking.” “We are not trying to penalize our smokers or our staff,” she added.

Northeast Ohio Medical University to go tobacco-free

The Northeast Ohio Medical University will ban all tobacco use on its campus beginning Nov. 1 – apparently becoming the first public institution in the state to respond to a recommendation by the Ohio Board of Regents that campuses become tobacco-free. Cleveland State University's board of trustees plans to adopt a policy in November. Other universities and community colleges in Ohio are developing or discussing a policy.

 The NEOMED board of trustees approved a resolution at its meeting Friday banning all tobacco on its campus, including in vehicles. It applies to employees, students and visitors. The policy says "interaction with smokers will be firm, but courteous and respectful." Those who violate the policy will first be reminded that NEOMED is smoke-free. Subsequent violations will result in disciplinary action similar to violating other NEOMED policies. The actions are outlined in the student handbook, employee handbook and university code of professional ethics. Visitors will be escorted off the property if they don't comply after an initial request.

 It will be difficult to find a place to smoke anywhere near campus. While most universities are adjacent to public property NEOMED, in Rootstown in Portage County, is rural. Smokers will have to go down the main driveway and cross Ohio 44 to light up. The board acted after administrators reviewed research, discussed the issue and received an endorsement by the NEOMED Student Council. The university will continue to offer and promote smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy, it said. Many services are provided at no cost or a reduced cost.

 Many colleges in Ohio banned smoking in buildings even before a state law went into effect in 2007 that restricts smoking inside most public places and workplaces. But students, staff and employees on most campuses can light up as they cross college greens and socialize away from buildings. Miami University had banned smoking on campus before the regents' recommendation. The University of Toledo bans all tobacco products but allows their use in seven huts around campus and in personal vehicles.

Several private colleges in the state have smoke-free campuses. The regents have said they hope that colleges will heed their concerns about the detrimental effects of tobacco on the health of employees and students. They approved a recommendation in July following a request by Cleveland Clinic officials. All Clinic facilities are smoke-free and it does not hire smokers. Dr. Eric Kodish, chair of the NEOMED board of trustees, is chairman of the department of bioethics at the Cleveland Clinic and felt strongly about the issue, a NEOMED spokeswoman said.

Health department grants target tobacco use, obesity

The McLean County Health Department wants real progress in the fight against fat and tobacco use and is deputizing community partners. The health department announced Thursday that it will award $96,000 to community organizations to implement programs to: -- Improve the health of students and school staff.
 -- Promote worksite wellness, including nutrition, physical activity, smoking cessation and weight and disease management.
 -- Voluntarily limit places where residents, employees and visitors can smoke at multi-unit housing properties. 
-- Prohibit cigarette use in public areas not covered by the Smoke-Free Illinois Act. About 35 representatives of various organizations were at the announcement at Uptown Station in Normal. “We would like to see measurable reductions in smoking and obesity,” health department director Walt Howe said.

 Overweight and obesity rates continue to increase with 39.5 percent of McLean County adults overweight and 22 percent obese, meaning they are at least 30 pounds overweight, Howe said. Consequences include joint destruction, cancer and heart disease. “The ultimate tragedy is what will happen with our children,” Howe said of childhood obesity. Fewer McLean County adults are smoking compared with a generation ago. But 16 percent continue to smoke, leading to 226 deaths in McLean County each year, Howe said.

Tobacco prices hit record Rs 140/kg in Karnataka sale

Karnataka’s Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco prices touched Rs 140 a kg, a record high, on the first day of auctions. The price was about 12 per cent higher than last year. The lowest bid price was also higher than last year by 84.61 per cent at Rs 120/kg. “This is an all-time high in the history of tobacco auctions in Karnataka.

The main reason is strong global demand for tobacco grown in light soil,” G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, Chairman, Tobacco Board, told Business Line. “In Andhra Pradesh, a similar trend is prevailing - strong demand and prices firming up - for crop grown in light soil,” he added. Another reason for prices to go up sharply in Karnataka is due to crop area shrinkage.

This crop year, area under tobacco is down 11.32 per cent at 94,000 hectares compared with last year due to erratic monsoon rains. According to K.N. Vishakantaiah, Regional Manager, Tobacco Board, Karnataka, “First day’s arrival in all the 11 auction platforms was 288 bales and the entire lot (34,358 kg) was sold with an average price of Rs 139.49/kg.” In all, about 10-12 companies actively participated in Karnataka auctions.