Kim Rutley traveled from Albuquerque to the state Capitol on Wednesday with a heavy heart and a well of tears. Her sister Jill, 61, died Jan. 2 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease after smoking for 40 years.
Rutley broke down and cried as she spoke in favor of a bill to increase taxes on tobacco products to discourage smoking and the use of snuff. She said her late sister tried the patch, hypnosis and other smoking-cessation strategies but remained addicted. Making tobacco more expensive is a way to stop other people from a life of smoking and sickness, she said.
“Price is a big motivator, especially for youth. They don’t have the disposable funds that adults have,” said Rutley, who works as a heath educator for the state.
The bill she supports is by Sen. Howie Morales, D-Silver City, who appeared at a news conference with Rutley and representatives of the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association. Morales’ bill would raise taxes on all tobacco products, including a $1-a-pack increase on cigarettes.
That would mean the tax on cigarettes would increase from $1.66 to $2.66 a pack. The average cost of a pack in New Mexico is $6.17, said Sandra Adondakis of the American Cancer Society’s Action Network.
In addition, Morales’ bill would increase taxes on cigars, smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes to 66 percent of the product value. Cigars and smokeless tobacco now have a 25 percent tax rate. Electronic cigarettes are not subject to a tobacco tax under state law.
Advocates of Morales’ bill said an across-the-board tax increase on tobacco is necessary to prevent kids from being enticed by lower-priced products with colorful names, such as Honey Berry cigars and Bubble Gum E Juice.
Morales said the higher tax rate would save lives. He and supporters of his bill estimate that 8,100 children in New Mexico would never start to smoke, and more than 10,000 adult smokers could be expected to quit because of the prohibitive cost. Another 5,100 people would avoid premature deaths, the advocates say.
Revenue from the higher taxes would add $33 million a year to the state treasury, Morales said.
Opposition to the bill could come from both businesses and politicians.
Jack Sweeney, owner of the Primo Cigar Shop in downtown Santa Fe, said the tax increase would kill his business but do little to dissuade people from smoking. Sweeney said higher taxes would simply drive customers to pueblos, where state tax rates don’t apply.
“This would be a death knell to us,” Sweeney said in an interview. “With the pueblos surrounding us, Internet sales and cheaper rates in border states like Texas and Arizona, we wouldn’t be competitive.”
Even with the existing 25 percent tax on cigars, it’s hard to make money, Sweeney said.
Morales acknowledged that his bill will face a difficult road to become law, in part because of Sweeney’s argument about customers simply taking their business to pueblos.
“It’s a long shot, but it’s our best shot” to reduce cancer, heart disease and other diseases related to tobacco use, Morales said.
Sweeney said he hoped the bill will fail because Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has promised to veto all tax increases. Martinez’s press aide did not respond to a message seeking comment on the bill.
Morales said legislators should not be tentative or cautious about introducing tax bills because of the prospect of a veto, especially if the measures can help people live healthier lives.
“A senator once told me that it’s our job to propose, and the executive’s job to dispose,” Morales said.
A poll commissioned last month by health organizations that support the bill found that 82 percent of New Mexico residents favor tax increases on tobacco. “Even among groups typically unhappy with taxes, such as conservative voters, support for a tobacco tax hike reaches as high as 80 percent,” the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network said in a statement.
Rutley, aching because of her sister’s death, said the proposed tax increase can protect others, especially young people, from addiction to tobacco.
“If Jill had it to do over again, she would not have chosen tobacco. She would have chosen life,” Rutley said.
Contact Milan Simonich at 986-3080 or msimonich@sfnewmexican.com. Follow his Ringside Seat column at www.santafenewmexican.com.
Resource: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/state-senator-says--per-pack-tobacco-tax-increase-would/article_eead3377-ded2-5185-aa2b-23aca23c9d5a.html
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