Health Advocates Drum Up Support For Statewide Cigarette Tax Increase

As lawmakers continue to debate a proposed state cigarette tax increase, public health advocates are spreading out across the state holding public forums to rally support. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports.

The Communities for a Clean Bill of Health, a statewide coalition of public health advocates, held their latest public forum in Biloxi in an attempt to drum up support for significantly increasing the state cigarette tax. Mississippi has the second lowest cigarette tax in the country, at .18 cents per pack. It's estimated that for every penny the tax is raised, state revenue will increase by $2.4 million dollars. Roy Mitchell, with the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program says that on top of the health benefits, at a time when the state is dealing with real budget concerns the revenue is greatly needed,

“The last time we raised our cigarette tax was 30 years ago. As advocates we want to see our policymakers take full advantage and raise it to .75 cents, the amount proposed by the house.”

Senate and House conferees are meeting this week to try and come to a compromise on how much the proposed increase should be. While the house is proposing 75 cents, the senate is proposing 64 cents, an amount which would be more in line with the cigarette taxes of surrounding states. Some lawmakers have expressed concerns that raising taxes too high will only drive consumers to cross state lines to buy their cigarettes. But State Senator David Baria, who supports the tax increase, thinks those concerns are exaggerated,

“I don’t believe that folks are going to load up in the car and drive to Louisiana because the price of a pack of cigarettes is just a few cents cheaper.“

The conferees are expected to come together again as soon as Friday.