Letter: Tobacco taxes should be raised

“Hey! I have a great idea! Let’s raise a tax on something,” said no North Dakota legislator ever. Wow! Raising a tax on anything, with North Dakota being so flush from oil money, just doesn’t make any sense at all. And yet, taxes (or fees if you want a more politically correct term) do continue […]

Ebola-fighting compound created using tobacco

Laura Ungar, USA TODAY LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky company used local tobacco to help produce an experimental serum to fight Ebola, which may help save two American aid workers stricken with the deadly disease. David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds American Services, said Owensboro-based Kentucky BioProcessing complied with a request from Emory University Hospital in […]

The Post's View: Raising all federal tobacco taxes can stop tax avoidance

By Editorial Board, Washington Post ENACT A LAW, and companies will find loopholes to exploit. That was the fear which drove lawmakers in 2009 to raise cigarette taxes together with taxes for roll-your-own tobacco and small cigars, both easy substitutes for cigarettes. To prevent manufacturers from shifting toward lesser-taxed alternatives, Congress equalized taxes between all three […]

Smoking Kills (Your Organs): 6 Major Organs Damaged By Cigarette Smoke

By Chris Weller, Medical Daily Coughing up heaping globs of mucous isn’t even the half of it. Neither is losing all sense of stamina, or coming home to a stale-smelling house with yellowed walls and furniture. No, the biggest consequences of smoking are, by and large, ones you will never see. These, however, tend to be […]

Tobacco tax law reportedly cost U.S. billions in revenue

By Reuters Media WASHINGTON – A 2009 law that raised federal taxes to discourage smoking cost the U.S. government billions of dollars in lost revenue as manufacturers relabeled products and consumers shifted to cheaper pipe tobacco and large cigars, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report released on Tuesday. The GAO estimated $2.6 billion to $3.7 billion in […]