The N.C. Alliance for Health says 20 cents is not enough.
The nonprofit coalition of health care associations argues that Gov. Mike Easley's proposed increase in the cigarette tax from 35 to 55 cents a pack will not stop people from smoking.
In a press release, the group argues that tax increases of 20 cents per pack or less "provide no significant smoking reductions" or related savings in health care costs.
Instead, using the slogan "75 Saves Lives!," it argues that the state should raise the tax 75 cents.
The group argues that would preent nearly 95,000 pre-teens and teen-agers from starting to smoke while causing a 16 percent decrease in youth smoking. It would also raise $347 million, as opposed to the $111.4 million the lower increase would generate.
North Carolina currently as the seventh-lowest cigarette tax in the country. The tax has been raised only three times in the past 17 years, and legislators are skeptical about the latest proposal.
Blog RSS feed
