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AUGUSTA — Health groups urged lawmakers Wednesday to increase the cigarettes tax by a $1 per pack, saying the increase will encourage more people to quit smoking and generate more money for health programs.
Health Policy Partners of Maine, which includes heart, lung and cancer groups, also announced survey results that show 76 percent of Mainers support a cigarette tax increase.
"Maine people understand the importance of high tobacco prices and are counting on their state legislators to use this powerful tool to reduce the physical and financial toll of tobacco use," said Ed Miller, CEO of the American Lung Association in Maine.
If Maine increases the state cigarette tax from $2 to $3 per pack, it would be the highest state tax in the country. Miller said other states, such as New York, are also considering tobacco tax increases.
The announcement came just one day after Gov. John Baldacci said he would support increasing the cigarettes tax to help pay for the state’s Dirigo Health program. Last year, Baldacci proposed a $1 per pack increase as part of the budget, but it was rejected by lawmakers.
This time around, House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, is sponsoring a bill to make changes to state health insurance laws in an attempt to lower the cost of health care in the state. Her bill includes a 50-cent-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes to help fund Dirigo Health, the state’s insurance program for individuals and small businesses.
Miller and others who gathered in the Statehouse Hall of Flags said they would support using some of the money for Dirigo Health and the rest for other health-related programs. "This is health policy," Miller said. "It’s not tax policy."
On the other side of the issue, smokers who stopped by the Maine Smoke Shop in Augusta said they feel singled out by the state. "I think they ought to back off the smokers for a while and go after the drinkers," said Charles McKenney, of Augusta. Sheila Tondreau, also of Augusta, said a tax increase is not a good idea.
"It’s always us that gets hit," she said. "You don’t see them taxing all these other people." Chris Jackson of the Maine Oil Dealers Association said convenience stores represented by the association have been hurt by past tobacco tax increases. "For small retailers, this is not about smoking or Dirigo Health, it’s about trying to stay competitive with our counterparts in New Hampshire," he said.
Jackson said convenience store owners with shops in Maine and New Hampshire saw cigarette sales drop here but increase in New Hampshire after the last tax hike. In 2005, Maine lawmakers set the current tax at $2 per pack. Jackson also said cigarette taxes are not a stable source of funding. "We think it’s unfair to mislead people to think Dirigo Health would have a reliable source of funding if the tobacco tax passed," he said.
Members of the health coalition said increasing the tax by another dollar will bring in an additional $64 million a year in revenue to the state. In addition, they say it will compel some people to stop smoking because they can no longer afford it, and that it will cut health care costs caused by smoking-related illnesses. "This is about Maine’s future," said Megan Hannan of the American Cancer Society. "We need to raise the price of cigarettes as soon as possible."