Posts

Bismarck Tribune: Coalition pushes tobacco tax measure

By NICK SMITH, Bismarck Tribune

Photo by Tom Stromme, Bismarck Tribune

Photo by Tom Stromme, 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 committee, Raise It for Health North Dakota.
Two-thirds of North Dakota voters in 2012 approved a ballot measure making public places smoke-free. In 2008, nearly 54 percent of voters approved the creation of a state tobacco prevention and control program.
Other states that have raised the tax have seen decreases in smoking, according to Johnson, adding that the measure will help beef up the state’s tobacco prevention efforts.
“This is a tax nobody has to pay. It’s a product that creates death,” Johnson said.
Kristie Wolff, with the American Lung Association in North Dakota, said the measure would increase the tobacco tax for cigarettes in North Dakota from 44 cents per pack to $2.20. Taxes on liquid nicotine products would be increased from 28 percent of the wholesale purchase price to 56 percent.
The national average tax on a pack of cigarettes is $1.61.
New tax revenues created through the measure, estimated at about $100 million per biennium, would be split between health-related programs in the state’s Community Health Trust Fund as well as a newly created Veterans Tobacco Tax Trust Fund.
“We’re confident that North Dakota voters will respond positively yet again,” Wolff said.
Only Georgia, Missouri and Virginia have lower tobacco taxes than North Dakota. The tobacco tax in North Dakota hasn’t been raised since 1993.
Being a statutory initiative, 13,452 legitimate signatures will be required at least 120 days before the election. The deadline for turning in signatures for the Nov. 8 election is July 11.
Several unsuccessful attempts have been legislatively in the year since the last tax increase.
Wolff said the increase would bring North Dakota in line with the surrounding states in the tax per pack of cigarettes. The tax in Minnesota is $3 per pack, in Montana it’s $1.70 and in South Dakota it’s $1.53.
“We based it on polling we’ve done,” Wolff told reporters when asked how the group came to the $1.76 per pack increase being proposed.
According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the tax increase could result in a 20 percent drop in youth smoking, preventing about 5,800 youths from becoming adult smokers, Johnson said.
North Dakota Retail Association president Mike Rud said the group he leads will need to review the measure language and watch to see if it gets the necessary signatures for a vote. The group opposed both 2015 bills.
Rud said on first glance the proposed increase is substantial, adding that taxing cigarettes would negatively impact lower-income smokers.
“Taxing a group that can least afford it? It’s a bit troublesome to us,” said Rud, clarifying that tobacco products aren’t illegal and retailers sell them to meet demand among legal buyers.
“There’s got to be a limit to how involved we get with these things,” Rud said.
For more information on ballot petitions being circulated, visit sos.nd.gov.
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/coalition-pushes-tobacco-tax-measure/article_ecf65fc0-d7ee-5458-9407-3088d50a3aed.html

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 tax since 1993 and now the Raise It For Health North Dakota coalition thinks it’s time.
The proposed tobacco tax will increase the tax on cigarettes from $0.44 per pack up to $2.20 per pack.
Scott Platfers says, “Going to have to pay more if I want to continue but I’m hoping that it might deter me too because it’s something I’ve been wanting to quit for a long time.”
The ultimate goal for this tobacco tax increase is to hopefully decrease youth smoking by 20 percent and prevent 5800 youth from ever starting.
The Fargo smoker says, “It’s not going to prevent all of them but I think it’s going to get some of them and every little bit helps.”
The coalition has already started getting signatures on this initiated measure.
The petition needs exactly 13,452 signatures in order appear on the November 8th ballot.
Platfers says, “It’s a double edged sword. It’ll effect me but as long as it would help somebody? Yeah, I would sign it.”
The proposed tobacco tax is estimated to bring in over $100-million new revenue to North Dakota with plans to go towards many health care services.
http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Coalition-to-raise-North-Dakota-tobacco-tax-372303722.html

Forum News Service: Proposed ND ballot measure would boost tax on cigarettes by $1.76 a pack

By Mike Nowatzki / Forum News Service
A group frustrated with the North Dakota Legislature’s repeated refusal to raise tobacco taxes will attempt to put the issue to voters in November, announcing a ballot initiative Wednesday that would hike the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.76.
Backers will need to gather 13,452 signatures by July 11 to place the initiated measure on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Dr. Eric Johnson, a Grand Forks physician and chairman of the measure’s 30-member sponsoring committee, estimated the higher tax would reduce youth smoking by 20 percent, preventing 5,800 youths from ever starting smoking.
He noted North Dakota voters approved a tobacco use prevention and control program in 2008 and passed a smoke-free workplace law in 2012, calling the higher tax “kind of the missing leg of the three-legged stool.”
“We do know that it reduces usage, and that saves money for everybody,” he said.
Supporters estimate the tax increase would generate more than $100 million every two years. Half of the money would be dedicated to a new trust fund to support services and programs for military veterans, while the rest would go into a community health trust fund.

Poll results as of 9:30 am on March 17, 2016

Poll results as of 9:30 am on March 17, 2016


North Dakota’s current tax of 44 cents on a pack of cigarettes ranks 47th lowest among states and hasn’t been increased since 1993, despite several attempts in the Legislature, including two bills defeated last year after strong pushback from retailers and distributors.
If approved by voters, the proposed new tax of $2.20 per pack would be lower than Minnesota’s $3-per-pack tax but higher than Montana’s $1.70 and South Dakota’s $1.53. The national average is $1.61 per pack.
The measure is being pushed by the Raise it for Health Coalition, which consists of 10 groups: the North Dakota Medical Association, American Lung Association in North Dakota, North Dakota Veterans Coordinating Council, Tobacco Free North Dakota, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, North Dakota Nurses Association, North Dakota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, March of Dimes, North Dakota Association of Counties and the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch.
 
 

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 Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for the group said details of the proposed measure wouldn’t be disclosed until the announcement.
As of January, data from the tobacco prevention group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids showed that North Dakota’s tobacco taxes are at 44 cents per pack. Only Georgia, Missouri and Virginia are lower. The tobacco tax in North Dakota hasn’t been raised since 1993.
Two bills proposing tobacco tax increases in the 2015 session failed.
House Bill 1421 would have raised the state’s cigarette tax to $1.54 per pack. It would also have raised the excise tax on other tobacco products from 28 percent of the wholesale purchase price to 43.5 percent. House lawmakers killed it by a 34-56 vote.
Senate Bill 2322 would have raised the cigarette tax in the state to $2 per pack; it failed in the Senate by a 17-30 vote.
Last session, health care officials supported the bills while retail groups opposed it. Several legislative attempts to raise the tax have failed since 1993.
Opponents of the 2015 bills used 2012 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to argue tobacco use isn’t a major problem in North Dakota. The data showed that North Dakota in 2012 ranked 37th in adult smoking and 49th in smokeless tobacco use. Among youth smokers, North Dakota ranked 34th among 44 states reporting data.
North Dakota voters in November 2012 approved a ballot measure making public places smoke-free. Two-thirds of voters supported the measure.
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/group-proposes-to-raise-tax-on-tobacco/article_4bd0f2cc-48bf-5e23-9008-be55a0db7268.html

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 then only by the voters, not the weak-kneed legislators.

The national average state cigarette tax is $1.61 per pack. California’s is about half that, 87 cents. We rank 35th. New York is first at $4.35.

But give our lawmakers credit: They did the next best thing, even if it was a punt to local government. They passed a bill allowing counties to seek voter approval of a local tobacco tax.

The tax revenue could be used to help smokers kick the habit and treat their tobacco-related ailments.

The main purpose, however, is to discourage people from buying smokes, a strategy that works — and worries cigarette makers. Researchers have found that for every 10% increase in the cigarette price, there’s a 4% reduction in use.

Let’s put the rap on legislative fortitude in perspective: To pass any tax increase, a two-thirds vote is needed. Passing a bill that allows someone else to raise a tax requires only a simple majority, which Democrats can handle without buying off Republicans.

The local tax bill, by Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), passed the Assembly on a 46-27 vote, far short of the 54 needed for two-thirds.

“Tobacco is a poison,” Bloom told me. “We shouldn’t even be debating this anymore. We should be doing everything to keep it out of the hands of young people.”

It was a bad day for tobacco interests. The Assembly passed two other bills that could have even greater immediate impact.

One, by Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), would raise the smoking age from 18 to 21.

Opponents argued it wouldn’t be fair that someone under 21 could die for their country but couldn’t smoke. So active military personnel were exempted.

The bill passed 49 to 25.

Hernandez says research shows that 90% of smokers begin puffing before age 21, and 80% before 18.

San Francisco last week raised its smoking age to 21. So have Hawaii and New York City.

But I’m skeptical. Come on! We can’t even enforce the age 18 limit. Kids get smokes at 14 or whenever they want.

Yes, argue the proposal’s advocates, but the 14-year-olds get their cigarettes from 18-year-olds. They wouldn’t be close enough to the 21-year-olds.

Perhaps. But what’s to stop the 18-year-olds from being supplied by those who are 21, and then passing them down to little sister?

The second big bill that passed makes total sense and is overdue. The measure, by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), would regulate electronic cigarettes like tobacco. Their use would be prohibited everywhere cigarettes are banned: in restaurants, theaters and other public places.

These cute vapor devices are particularly appealing to minors, sold with yummy flavors such as chocolate, cotton candy and cherry — and usually laced with addictive nicotine.

The bill passed 52 to 21.

One Los Angeles study, Leno says, found that 9th-graders who use e-cigarettes are four times as likely to get hooked on tobacco.

“Clearly, Big Tobacco’s next move is to addict a new generation to nicotine,” Leno says.

Three other anti-smoking bills also passed the Assembly the same day. One would close loopholes in the state’s smoke-free workplace laws. Another would require all schools to be tobacco free. The third would impose a state licensing fee on tobacco retailers.

Passage of the six-bill package earned kudos for Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) on her last day as Assembly leader. Assemblyman Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) takes over this week.

Last year, the tobacco lobby and its legislative minions stalled the bills in the Assembly after two key measures — raising the smoking age and regulating e-cigarettes — passed the Senate.

One reason is obvious: So far in this election cycle, the major tobacco companies have plied legislators with nearly $364,000 in campaign contributions, according to MapLight, which tracks political money. Of that, 83% has gone to Republicans — who make up only 35% of the Legislature — and 17% to Democrats.

Add the last election cycle to this one, and Big Tobacco has donated $894,000, 71% to Republicans and 29% to Democrats.

Most Democrats voted for the anti-tobacco legislation. Most Republicans voted against.

The Senate intends to approve Assembly amendments and send the entire package to noncommittal Gov. Jerry Brown this week. Unless.

Behind the scenes, Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) quietly is offering to negotiate with tobacco. If the industry were to allow the Legislature to pass a state tobacco tax, perhaps some of the package could be snuffed.

Then sponsors of a November ballot initiative that would raise the state cigarette tax by $2 per pack might be persuaded to withdraw their measure. That would save the tobacco industry upward of $100 million fighting the initiative.

And unions that are pushing it could plow their money into Democratic legislative races instead. Plus, there wouldn’t be a tobacco tax on the ballot to complicate life for a union-sponsored extension of Brown’s soak-the-rich income tax hike.

It’s all very complex. And unlikely. The Legislature has exhibited about all the courage it can against terrifying tobacco.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-me-pol-sac-cap-tobacco-20160307-column.html

KFYR-TV: ND Gets 'F' Grade for Tobacco Taxes on State of Tobacco Control Report

By: Amanda Skrzypchak, KFYR-TV
When it comes to taxes on tobacco North Dakota gets an F from the American Lung Association.
Released in it’s annual State of Tobacco Control Report Wednesday, North Dakota’s overall grades didn’t change from last year. The report shows the state received A’s for smoke free air, as well as prevention and control program spending. A C for access to cessation and an F for tobacco taxes.
Cigarette taxes are at 44 cents per pack making it one of the lowest in the nation.
The CDC best practices show that increasing the price of tobacco is the most effective way to reduce the amount of kids smoking.
For a complete look at the report and compare our state to others visit stateoftobaccocontrol.org.
http://www.kfyrtv.com/home/headlines/ND-Gets-F-Grade-for-Tobacco-Takes-367523391.html

Fargo Forum: WF high school rethinking assignment to urge lawmakers to hike tobacco tax

By Helmut Schmidt

WEST FARGO – Add to North Dakota’s tobacco tax or leave it alone?
That’s a question Sheyenne High School teachers agree would have been better left up to students to decide.

On Friday, senior government class students teamed up with a freshman health class in a collaborative project to write letters to local legislators about the tobacco tax rate in North Dakota. The students thanked lawmakers who voted to increase the tobacco tax in the state during the last session, and encouraged those who didn’t support a higher tax on tobacco to consider doing so in the future.
“For our state, we have very strict laws as far as tobacco in public buildings, but as far as tobacco tax, we are one of the lowest in the nation, and that’s what we are trying to deter,” health teacher Tom Kirchoffner told WDAY-TV.
The original intent was to send the letters to the legislators, but that’s not what happened.
“After this group of teachers did the project, they sat down and they debriefed it. What were the strengths of that project … and what were some of the areas for improvement?,” district spokeswoman Heather Konschak said Tuesday.
That debriefing took place Friday, she said.
“They realized as they chatted about it that one of the areas for improvement would have been that they gave the student group their perspective,” Konschak said. “The students weren’t able to discuss it and come up with their own perspective. And from a government class standpoint, that’s not what you do. You allow kids to discuss and form their own perspective and viewpoint.”
The teachers “decided that because that’s not what happened in the project, that they weren’t going to send the letters,” because it is possible that’s “not an accurate depiction of what the kids would have picked if they had been given the opportunity to do it on their own,” Konschak said.
The decision was “there should have been more open dialogue,” to let the students choose their positions on the issue, Konschak said.
Konschak said one of the teachers got the idea from a conference. The project was in addition to the required curriculum, she said.
Kirchoffner didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment Tuesday. He was unavailable because he’s a basketball coach and was traveling to a game, Konschak said.
North Dakota’s tax per pack of cigarettes is 44 cents, which puts it at 48th in the nation. Minnesota’s per pack tax is $2.90, putting it at No. 8 in the U.S., according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
New York has the highest state tax per pack at $4.35, while Missouri has the lowest state tax at 17 cents per pack. The national average is $1.60 per pack, the campaign reports.
Those figures do not include local taxes. The highest state-local tax combination per pack is $6.16 in Chicago, with New York City second at $5.85 per pack, the campaign reports.
http://www.inforum.com/news/3904754-wf-high-school-rethinking-assignment-urge-lawmakers-hike-tobacco-tax

Bismarck Tribune Editorial: N.D. becomes leader in tobacco fight

North Dakota has garnered praise for its spending efforts to reduce tobacco use. There’s a little irony in this since the Legislature in the past has questioned the amount of spending.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids looked at how states used the billions of dollars received from lawsuits settled with major tobacco companies in 1998.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, North Dakota is the only state to spend at levels it recommended. The state also was one of five states to spend at least 50 percent of what the CDC recommends.
Spending by states on tobacco prevention programs bottomed out at $459.5 million in 2013, according to the campaign’s report, and is expected to reach $468 million in 2016. At the same time, an estimated $25.8 billion will be collected in settlement funds and tobacco taxes. Tobacco companies reportedly spend about $9.6 billion a year on marketing. North Dakota has $10 million planned for fiscal year 2016.
The anti-tobacco campaign appears to be working.
A survey conducted by the state Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Health shows 80 percent of the students responding said they did not use cigarettes, cigars or smokeless tobacco, an increase from 74 percent two years ago. The percentage of high school students who said they had smoked a cigarette at least once in the month dropped from 19 percent to 12 percent. The percentage of high school students who said they had ever tried to smoke a cigarette was 35 percent, down from 41 percent in 2013. Smokeless tobacco use declined from 14 percent to 11 percent this year.

The anti-tobacco effort emphasizes keeping kids from using tobacco and if they do, getting them to quit. The numbers indicate they are being successful. Some have questioned the amount of money being spent and how it’s being used. While the campaign may appear heavy-handed at times, it’s getting the point across. In the past some legislators wanted to spend less on anti-tobacco efforts and divert the tobacco settlement money to other programs. In 2008 North Dakotans passed a measure requiring a portion of the settlement funds be used for tobacco prevention.
Even a tobacco company favors the spending. “We believe states should use (settlement) payments to fund tobacco cessation and underage tobacco prevention programs at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control,” Brian May, a spokesman for Philip Morris, told the Forum News Service.
The anti-tobacco effort has been successful in other areas with smoking banned in public areas. And now the efforts go beyond traditional forms of tobacco to vaporing products. The dangers of second-hand smoke is another focus, with apartment residents being urged to demand a smoke-free environment. Some may think this is going too far, but anti-tobacco campaign is on a roll and has the money to keep going.
Society is getting closer to being smoke-free, too fast for some and too slowly for others.
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/opinion/editorial/n-d-becomes-leader-in-tobacco-fight/article_ed7dc472-6eb0-5e6d-b63b-51c4cd23e599.html

Fargo Forum editorial: Tobacco cessation succeeds

There is good news in the war against tobacco use: North Dakota is winning.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said last week that North Dakota is the only state spending at levels recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on tobacco cessation programs. That level is 50 percent of funds designated from the 1998 tobacco settlement lawsuits.

But it’s about more than spending dollars where they were meant to be spent. It’s about results, and on that score North Dakota is a leader. For example, a portion of the money was spent to fund a study of secondhand smoke’s effects in Grand Forks, the results of which were pivotal in that city passing a 2010 law that outlawed smoking in bars, casinos and truck stops. Several North Dakota cities, using information compiled locally and by the North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy, easily approved ordinances directed at ending secondhand smoke in public places and businesses. Most of the cities were ahead of a Legislature that remained in the thrall of the state’s tobacco lobby, and it took a 2012 ballot measure to impose statewide restrictions on smoking and secondhand smoke.
There has been some grousing and whining about how tobacco settlement money is being spent in North Dakota. It’s come mostly from special interests that lost the tobacco cessation battle years ago. They were wrong then and are wrong now about the effects of the expenditures. For example, during the time that education and public service efforts were ratcheted up, smoking among youths plunged to 11.7 percent this year after hovering at about 20 percent the eight previous years.
Anti-tobacco programs work. The statistics are unambiguous. Tobacco settlement money has been well-spent in North Dakota, and the CDC and others recognize the state’s success. That’s good news.
Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper’s Editorial Board
http://www.inforum.com/opinion/editorials/3903588-forum-editorial-tobacco-cessation-succeeds

WDAY: Sheyenne students write letters to lawmakers asking them to raise tobacco tax

By Jordee Kalk

West Fargo (WDAY TV) – A creative collaboration for students at Sheyenne High School happened Friday.
Senior government students teamed up with a freshman health class to write letters to local legislators on the tobacco tax rate in North Dakota. Students thanked legislators who voted to increase the tobacco tax throughout the state in the last legislative session and encouraged ones who didn’t to think about doing so in the future.

Currently, North Dakota’s tax is 44 cents per carton [sic] of cigarettes.
“For our state we have very strict laws as far as tobacco in public buildings, nut as far as tobacco tax, we are one of the lowest in the nation and that’s what we are trying to deter,” Sheyenne High School Teacher Tom Kirchoffner said.
According to the Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids, the average tobacco tax in the U.S. is $1.60 per pack. The campaign claims North Dakota has the third lowest tax rate.
Read more or watch the video: http://www.wday.com/news/3902095-sheyenne-students-write-letters-lawmakers-asking-them-raise-tobacco-tax