Entries by Erin Hill-Oban

AP: Ohio’s infant mortality panel recommends tobacco tax hike

ANN SANNER, Associated Press COLUMBUS – Ohio lawmakers should increase the tobacco tax, raise the tobacco-buying age to 21 and ban the sale of crib bumpers, according to a state panel tasked with addressing infant mortality. The recommendations are among dozens in a report by the Ohio Commission on Infant Mortality released Tuesday. Ohio’s infant […]

USA Today Editorial Board: Raise cigarette sales age and see: Our view

The Editorial Board When California lawmakers voted this month to raise the legal age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21, they joined Hawaii and more than 100 localities in seeking a new way to prevent vulnerable teenagers from getting hooked. Almost everyone who smokes started by age 18, research shows. The tobacco industry, among the world’s […]

Dr. Eric Johnson: Tobacco tax will deter young people from using products

By Dr. Eric Johnson, Grand Forks – Jamestown Sun As a Grand Forks physician and chairman of the recently announced efforts to initiate a ballot measure to increase North Dakota’s tobacco taxes, it’s important the public be given the facts right off the bat. First, North Dakota’s tobacco taxes have not been increased since 1993, ranking […]

Bismarck Tribune: Coalition pushes tobacco tax measure

By NICK SMITH, Bismarck Tribune Members of a coalition seeking an increase in the state’s tobacco tax say their proposed increase would reduce smoking rates as well as state health care costs among other benefits. “That’s the missing leg of the three-legged stool,” Eric Johnson, a Grand Forks physician and head of the measure’s sponsoring […]

Valley News Live: Coalition wants to raise North Dakota tobacco tax

By: Natalie Parsons FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) It has been proposed in the state of North Dakota to raise the tax on tobacco products. If it passes, you will see it on your ballot this November. Supporters already started collecting some of the required 13,000 plus signatures. North Dakota has not increased its tobacco […]

KX News: Raise It For Health North Dakota Coalition Seeks Tobacco Tax Change

By Kaitlyn Wurnig It will require 13,452 signatures and a yes vote, but the Raise it for Health North Dakota coalition is seeking a change. A change North Dakota has not had in 23 years. “Increasing the price of tobacco is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking and other tobacco use, especially among […]

Bismarck Tribune: Group proposes to raise tax on tobacco

NICK SMITH, Bismarck Tribune A coalition seeking to reduce tobacco use in North Dakota will unveil a proposed ballot measure Wednesday, which would raise the state’s tobacco tax — one of the lowest in the nation. The group, Raise it for Health North Dakota, will make its announcement in Memorial Hall inside the state Capitol on […]

InForum: Mentally ill more likely to smoke, die from tobacco-related illness

The mentally ill and those battling substance abuse are much more likely than others to smoke, and suffer higher illness and death rates as a result. The American Lung Association in North Dakota is launching an effort to target smoking cessation programs at those who are mentally ill or dealing with addictions. Tobacco control advocates […]

LA Times – Capitol Times: Lawmakers show surprising courage against Big Tobacco

The Legislature showed some guts last week in standing up to the tobacco lobby and its political money. It could have shown more, however, by mustering the courage to raise taxes on cigarettes, cigars and chewing crud. California’s tobacco tax is among the lowest in the nation and hasn’t been hiked since 1998 — and […]