An e-cigarette vape plume is photographed in Denver in this Aug. 3, 2020 photo illustration.
Big Tobacco did something unusual in Marlboro Country last fall: It stood aside while Colorado voters approved the state’s first tobacco tax hike in 16 years.
The industry, led by Altria Group, one of the world’s largest tobacco companies, has spent exorbitantly in the past to kill similar state ballot initiatives. In 2018, Altria’s lobbying arm spent more than $17 million to help defeat Montana’s tobacco tax ballot initiative. That same year, it spent around $6 million to help defeat South Dakota’s similar measure.
And four years ago, Altria was the leading funder in a successful $16 million campaign to quash Colorado’s previous proposed tobacco tax increase.
While an increased tax means more state revenue, a disincentive for kids to smoke and a win for public health, the measure could also allow premium tobacco companies to gain market share.
Healthcare advocates are criticizing the Trump administration’s approval amid overwhelming opposition, a global pandemic, and as the number of uninsured Americans grows of Tennessee’s plan to overhaul funding of its Medicaid program, calling the decision “reckless” and “irresponsible.”
Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, called it “a radical waiver that puts Tennessee’s Medicaid beneficiaries at risk.”
BTW if I were going to pick a state to showcase a new way to run Medicaid I would not pick Tennessee. In 2018 TN led the nation in kicking kids off of Medicaid (see blog below) which contributed to a large ⬆️ in their uninsured rate from 2016 to 2019.https://t.co/hg32E7Xs6Whttps://t.co/giKtbMbgeS
21 patient and consumer groups issued the following statement regarding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approval of Tennessee's 1115 demonstration waiver, which would block grant federal funding for the state's Medicaid program.
The tax on cigarettes will go up by $2 a pack. Taxes on cigars will also increase. And for the first time, Oregon will tax vaping products such as e-cigarettes.
Taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products will increase in 2021 in Oregon.
Credit Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
The changes are expected to bring in an additional $165 million per year. Most of the new revenue will go towards health coverage for low-income Oregonians. It’s also expected to triple the amount of spending on tobacco cessation programs.
That’s a big win, said Jamie Dunphy of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network.