Why not raise tobacco tax?

After years of being flush with tax revenue, the state is hurting. So much so that state lawmakers are contemplating furloughs for state workers and cutting aid to some of the poorest of Utah's poor, who receive just $261 a month under the state's General Assistance program.

For some reason, Senate GOP leaders aren't interested in raising the state's tobacco tax. It's a real head-scratcher considering that the state hasn't raised tobacco taxes in several years, and 18 of 29 state senators support raising it, according to Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, sponsor of SB114.

There is also credible research that shows a strong connection between increased cigarette costs and a reduction in youths taking up the habit. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, even a 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes cuts youth smoking by about 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.

Seemingly, that's a policy that state lawmakers would want to support, considering the escalation in health-care costs that can be attributed to smoking. The United Way of Salt Lake and the American Cancer Society say smokers on Medicaid rack up $104 million in bills annually. Expressed another way, costs per pack of cigarettes sold amount to $7.75, with the state taxing only 69.5 cents per pack.

So why are Senate leaders taking a hands-off approach to the tobacco industry? Constituents should be asking why, because the reluctance to move on a tobacco-tax hike is unwise from a public health standpoint, and ridiculous considering the state's dwindling tax revenues.

Here's another consideration: Utah's cigarette tax is among the lowest in the Rocky Mountain region. Only Wyoming, at 60 cents of state tax per pack, and Idaho, at 57 cents per pack, are lower. However, Arizona's state tax is $2 per pack, New Mexico is at 91 cents and Nevada at 80 cents per pack. Nationwide, Utah's tobacco tax ranks 34th highest.

Increasing the tax to $2 per pack is reasonable. It's high enough that some smokers may give up the habit or reduce their smoking. It's high enough to discourage youths from starting to smoke. It's not high enough to encourage smokers to form caravans to purchase cigarettes in nearby states with lower taxes, as some in the tobacco lobby contend.

There's really no sound argument against raising this tax, the revenue from which would be used, in part, to enhance tobacco prevention and research efforts. State lawmakers need to reject the specious arguments of the tobacco lobby and move ahead with this tax increase.