State lawmakers are considering raising Ohio’s cigarette tax by 40 cents per pack, but anti-smoking advocates say such a small increase wouldn’t have much of an impact on public health.
Shelly Kiser, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Ohio and Michigan, said a 40-cent increase would be a win for tobacco companies. Kiser said companies can afford to absorb the cost and offer rebates and discounts to customers to make up the difference.
“People aren’t going to try to quit because there’s not that shock value of that high price, and when you don’t have that, people don’t quit and kids aren’t going to stop buying,” Kiser said.
Earlier this year, Gov. John Kasich proposed increasing the tax by $1 per pack, which would make Ohio’s per-pack tax the highest in the region at $2.25 a pack. Anti-smoking advocates said such an increase would cause an estimated 73,100 adult smokers to quit, prevent 65,000 youth from becoming smokers, and prevent 40,100 future deaths from smoking.
Wholesalers and retailers joined tobacco companies fighting the increase, concerned the higher price would drive customers away from Ohio businesses and to the Internet and neighboring states.
The 40-cent increase would make Ohio’s per-pack tax higher than all neighboring states except Michigan.
In addition to the cigarette tax hike, the Senate version of the budget raises the state tax on cigars, chewing tobacco and other tobacco products from 17 percent to 22.5 percent. The Senate’s two-year budget plan also allocates $8 million of the estimated $406 million in new tobacco tax revenue toward tobacco prevention and cessation efforts over the next two years.
Kiser said $4 million annually is less than tobacco companies spend on marketing in Ohio in one week. Ohio’s adult smoking rate has climbed in recent years to 23 percent while the national average has dropped to 19 percent.
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