Anti-smoking group: Cigarette tax hike must be larger

The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont applauds a proposal to raise the tax on cigarettes, but argued Monday the 27-cent increase isn’t enough.

The cigarette tax increase was included in a tax bill recommended by the House Ways and Means Committee. It would raise $24 million from a package of tax changes, including the proposed 27-cent increase in the cigarette tax.

The coalition — American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids — suggests a one-dollar increase would have an impact on public health by reducing smoking rates and preventing some young people from starting to smoke.

“Given that the average pack price in Vermont is currently $6.50, the proposed 27-cent increase would not be expected to produce any benefit for public health. While Vermont used to be a leader in protecting kids from tobacco initiation, we now have fallen behind most of our neighbors and have not passed a significant increase in the cigarette excise tax since 2006,” Tina Zuk, coalition coordinator, wrote in a statement.

The bigger increase would provide more money to deal with the state’s current financial problems and help the state saving health care dollars in the future by reducing the number of smokers, anti-smoking advocates argued.

The 27-cent increase would raise $3.66 million in new taxes, while a dollar increase would raise about $10 million.