SMOKE 'EM IF YOU CAN AFFORD 'EM - Pack Tax Increases 62 Cents Wednesday

(03/30/2009)

West Virginia smokers will get hit with a big federal tax increase on their cigarettes starting Wednesday. The state legislature will likely not add new taxes on cigarettes this year. The state's plan would have doubled the tax on cigarettes. On April 1, the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes will jump from 39 cents to $1.01, with revenues going to expand state Children's Health Insurance Programs. Across the country, more than a dozen states are looking at tobacco taxes to fill holes in their budgets, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most are saying it is because of health concerns. Hersha Arnold Brown, state government relations director for the American Cancer Society, said "Our stance is that it is also a health-care issue. Research shows that increasing the price of cigarettes through a tobacco tax is one of the most effective ways to get adults to quit smoking." West Virginia has the second highest smoking rate in the nation, with 27 percent of adults smoking. According to Pride Surveys, Calhoun County has one of the highest rates of tobacco use in West Virginia in school children.

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