Proposed Tobacco Tax Stirs Debate on Both Sides
By: William Seay
Updated: October 8, 2012
(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) A proposed state tax would hit Missouri voters in their wallets or pocketbooks.
Proposition B is a planned increase in the state's tobacco tax - from the current rate of $0.17 per pack of cigarettes to $0.90 cents.
The measure, which was struck down by voters in 2002 and 2006, still has people on both sides of the debate.
One smoker totally against the proposition is St. Joseph resident Bob Meeks.
Meeks, a smoker since his teenage years in the early 1960s, says Prop B attacks individual rights to buy what a person wants to buy.
"They're taking everyone's ability to have a good time or do what they want in their life," he said.
Proponents of the tax say it's a preventative measure, meant to curtail the amount of tobacco that's purchased.
"If we can stop youth from smoking, if we can reduce the amount of smokers, then we reduce healthcare costs for everyone, because we sustain them," said Mary Attebury, a spokeswoman for Clean Air St. Joe.
Clean Air St. Joe is a non-profit organization whose ultimate goal is to see an ordinance passed in St. Joseph outlawing public smoking in indoor areas.
They see Prop B as a public health issue.
"This is not looking for a revenue stream. This is looking to enhance the opportunities from initiating in school all the way to adulthood. [The goal is] reducing the cost and the damage that tobacco does," Attebury said.
But if passed, the measure would create some considerable money for the state of Missouri.
It's estimated the tax could bring in upwards of $238 million, which would be used in three areas:
50% would go into the state funding for public elementary and secondary education.
30% would go into the funds for state colleges and universities.
The remaining 20% is planned for programs aimed at preventing young people from picking up the habit and for programs that help long-time smokers quit.
Opponents see the tax as a slippery slope, that it could create the avenue for legislators to increase the tax on other things that people choose to buy, like coffee or alcohol.
"Whether you like people that smoke or don't smoke is immaterial. A tax is a tax. If they're going to tax one thing they're going to tax another. If they can get away with this, they'll get away with anything they want to do," Meeks said.
Proposition B is a planned increase in the state's tobacco tax - from the current rate of $0.17 per pack of cigarettes to $0.90 cents.
The measure, which was struck down by voters in 2002 and 2006, still has people on both sides of the debate.
One smoker totally against the proposition is St. Joseph resident Bob Meeks.
Meeks, a smoker since his teenage years in the early 1960s, says Prop B attacks individual rights to buy what a person wants to buy.
"They're taking everyone's ability to have a good time or do what they want in their life," he said.
Proponents of the tax say it's a preventative measure, meant to curtail the amount of tobacco that's purchased.
"If we can stop youth from smoking, if we can reduce the amount of smokers, then we reduce healthcare costs for everyone, because we sustain them," said Mary Attebury, a spokeswoman for Clean Air St. Joe.
Clean Air St. Joe is a non-profit organization whose ultimate goal is to see an ordinance passed in St. Joseph outlawing public smoking in indoor areas.
They see Prop B as a public health issue.
"This is not looking for a revenue stream. This is looking to enhance the opportunities from initiating in school all the way to adulthood. [The goal is] reducing the cost and the damage that tobacco does," Attebury said.
But if passed, the measure would create some considerable money for the state of Missouri.
It's estimated the tax could bring in upwards of $238 million, which would be used in three areas:
50% would go into the state funding for public elementary and secondary education.
30% would go into the funds for state colleges and universities.
The remaining 20% is planned for programs aimed at preventing young people from picking up the habit and for programs that help long-time smokers quit.
Opponents see the tax as a slippery slope, that it could create the avenue for legislators to increase the tax on other things that people choose to buy, like coffee or alcohol.
"Whether you like people that smoke or don't smoke is immaterial. A tax is a tax. If they're going to tax one thing they're going to tax another. If they can get away with this, they'll get away with anything they want to do," Meeks said.
