THE CIGARETTE USER FEE – SEND THE BUDGET SHORTFALL UP IN SMOKE

Did you know:

• A cigarette tax is a user fee paid only by those who smoke.

• 25 states and Puerto Rico have increased their cigarette user fees since January, 2002.

• Texas’ user fee per pack of cigarettes is 41 cents. It has not been raised since 1990.

• 17 states have cigarette user fees of $1.00 per pack or more.

• A $1 per pack increase in the cigarette user fee would generate $1.5 billion in new revenue during the next biennium. (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts)

• The vast majority of Texans support a cigarette user fee increase (Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids poll)

Governor Graves (R-KS):  “This is more than a fiscal issue. This is driven in large part by health benefits that we know will be derived from reducing smoking, especially among young Kansans.” [Associated Press, February 6, 2002] “The public supports it. It has positive public health implications, and it produces some money we need in an ongoing fashion.” [Lawrence Kansas Journal-World, April 7, 2002]