Two Birds with One Tax?
The country's largest tobacco tax increase went into effect this morning, raising the tax on cigarettes from 39 cents a pack to $1.01, according to USA Today.
The money from the tax reportedly will be used to fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage to uninsured children throughout the country. But that's not the only health benefit stemming from the increase.
Tobacco companies raised the price of their products in preparation of the tax, USA Today states, sending the cost of a pack soaring well above the previous average of $5. Officials from tobacco companies told USA Today the hike will likely lead to a decline in smoking. And Matthew McKenna, director of the Office of Smoking and Health at the CDC, said he anticipated at least 1 million of the nation's 45 million smokers to quit.
Whether or not this happens remains to be seen, but if it does, it looks like one tax has made 2 huge problems a little bit smaller.