Proposed cigarette tax hikes pack price by $1

BOSTON – A cigarette tax hike proposed by House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has gained the backing of Senate President Therese Murray and, if passed, would increase the price per pack by $1.Murray said the measure has strong support among her legislative colleagues at the State House. Extra revenue generated by the tax increase will help cover the higher than expected costs of the state’s landmark health care law, she said.The new health care requirement that every Massachusetts resident obtain some form of insurance coverage has attracted far more than the anticipated number of people seeking subsidized care.According to DiMasi, an additional tax on cigarettes will defray the cost of the state’s health care plan.Gov. Deval Patrick has offered no comment, saying he wants to see the bill before deciding whether to sign it.The state’s Republican party is planning a news conference today to oppose tax increases in general, including the one on cigarettes. Murray, DiMasi and Patrick are all Democrats.A 30-page report released Monday by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids issued the report, titled “Tobacco Tax Benefits for Massachusetts: Reducing Smoking, Saving Lives, and Saving Money,” indicates the $1 per pack tax increase would help resolve the state’s budget deficit by raising more than $150 million in new revenue and, perhaps more importantly, save thousands of lives by reducing youth smoking and causing other smokers to kick the habit. The associated healthcare costs were also tallied into the projected savings.Among the report highlights, the tax increase theoretically would prevent 46,100 Massachusetts children from becoming smokers; spur another 25,800 current adult smokers to permanently quit; save more than 21,500 Massachusetts residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths; raising $150 million in additional revenue; and produce more than $1 billion in long-term healthcare savings.A statewide poll of Massachusetts voters released last January found that 63 percent support a $1 tax increase on cigarettes, while 74 percent would support it if the money was allocated to tobacco prevention and healthcare programs.The state currently imposes a $1.51 tax on a pack of cigarettes, a rate approved in 2002. Over the past six years, at least 42 states have increased their cigarette excise taxes. In nine of those states, the cigarette tax was set at $2 or more. Legislators in New York were expected to authorize an additional $1.25 tax on each pack, giving that state the nation’s highest per-pack tax at $2.75.The proposed increase in Massachusetts would improve both the physical and financial health of the state, said William V. Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, urging legislative leaders to pass the law.Corr said increasing the price of cigarettes is among the most effective ways to reduce smoking, particularly among children. He cited studies showing that every 10 percent price increase reduces youth smoking by about 7 percent, and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Massachusetts, and the U.S. as a whole, he said.In Massachusetts, tobacco use annually claims more than 9,000 lives and costs the state more than $3.5 billion in health care bills, including $1 billion in Medicaid payments. According to the report, government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $742 each year on every Massachusetts household. While the state has made progress in reducing youth smoking, nearly 18 percent of Massachusetts high school students are still current smokers, and 8,300 more youths become regular smokers every year.