 Advocates from several anti-smoking organizations met with state
senators and representatives Thursday to promote the tax increase
and present data from the survey.Currently, Illinois state tax on
cigarettes is 98 cents per pack.
Kevin O'Flaherty, regional advocacy director for the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids, said the $1 tax would bring in $297.6 million in
revenue to the state. That revenue could then be funneled toward
health care and human services -- areas currently under the budget
knife due to a $13 billion state deficit.
"I'm sure that voters in Illinois know that there are hard
decisions that need to be made here in Springfield," O'Flaherty
said. "Increasing the cigarette tax by $1 is an easy choice."
The state Senate approved legislation to increase taxes on
cigarettes last year, but the House of Representatives still has to
vote on the bill.
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said that while most
residents in the state favor the tax on cigarettes, it has been a
struggle to get lawmaker support. The bill just barely passed the
state Senate, and he said the House is struggling to get the needed
votes.
"It's really kind of stunning when you think about it," Cullerton
said. "Why wouldn't this be one of the most obvious bills to pass?
Especially in light of the fact that it brings in so much money."
Cullerton said the word "tax" is what he thinks is turning many
lawmakers away, but he said the cigarette tax is a good idea in
terms of public health.
"If this didn't bring in any money, it would still be a good
idea," Cullerton said. "That's the thing that's so amazing. If it
didn't bring in money, it would keep all these young people from
starting (smoking) and a lot of current smokers would stop."
Along with producing nearly $300 million in new revenue for
Illinois, the estimated health care cost savings to Illinois
taxpayers with the $1 cigarette tax is $2.4 billion, according to
the survey.
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State Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, D-Evanston, believes many
opponents of the cigarette tax forget how much money goes toward
treating those with tobacco-related illness.
"Those who oppose an increase in the tobacco tax consistently
fail to point out the tremendous financial toll that we all pay at
hospitals and with physicians and health care providers in order to
address the staggering costs of tobacco-related illness," Schoenberg
said.
State Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Broadview, said she has been
working hard in the House to get the bill passed. She said Illinois
is behind in cigarette taxes compared with most other states.
"More states are turning to tobacco taxes to help during this
tough economic time," Yarbrough said. "And at 98 cents a pack,
Illinois falls far behind other states, ranking 32nd in the nation
in cigarette tax rates."
The national average for state cigarette tax rates is $1.50,
O'Flaherty said.
If approved by the General Assembly, the $1 tax increase for a
pack of cigarettes would come on the heels of a federal tax increase
of 62 cents implemented earlier this month.
The cigarette excise tax that tobacco companies must pay the
federal government rose by 61.6 cents per pack in order to fund an
expansion of the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program.
The tobacco companies simply passed the increase on to wholesalers,
who passed it on to customers.
The current legislation would increase taxes on cigarettes only
and would not apply to other tobacco products.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ASHLEY BADGLEY] |
