{"id":3447,"date":"2015-08-18T01:22:12","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T01:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3447"},"modified":"2015-08-18T01:22:12","modified_gmt":"2015-08-18T01:22:12","slug":"california-legislature-finally-considering-raising-cigarette-taxes-2-a-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3447","title":{"rendered":"California Legislature finally considering raising cigarette taxes $2 a pack"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The_Wharf_San_Francisco_100s_hard_box_2014_CP12016\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I know this will surprise a lot of people, but California actually has one of the lowest state cigarette taxes in the U.S. Californians only pay 87 cents a pack on cigarettes, while the average state cigarette tax in the country is $1.60.<\/p>\n

California legislators a couple of years ago chickened out and punted the issue of raising cigarette taxes to the voters and after Big Tobacco poured millions upon millions into fighting the ballot measure, The measure, Proposition 9, failed by a vote of 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent <\/a>in 2012. That measure would have raised state cigarette taxes from 87 cents a pack to a still-very-reasonable $1.87 a pack.<\/p>\n

Now, the California Assembly is considering raising the tax to $2.87 a pack<\/a>. Be careful what you wish for, Big Tobacco and stupid Libertarians.<\/p>\n

The tax proposal is part of a special session being considered by Gov. Jerry Brown to raise funds for crumbling infrastructure and health care needs in California. A proposed raise in the state gas tax would go toward fixing roads and bridges in the state and a proposed cigarette tax increase (up to $2 a pack) is being considered to help with Medicaid and other health care costs<\/p>\n

According to the San Jose Mercury News, cigarettes contribute $18 billion a year to health care costs in California. This information comes from UC-San Francisco, where my hero Stanton Glantz, a pioneering tobacco control scientist, is a professor.<\/p>\n

It still blows my mind that California has one of the lowest cigarette taxes in the entire country — only a handful of states, mostly in the Deep South, are lower. In a few weeks, California in one fell swoop could become one of the most expensive states in the country to buy cigarettes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  I know this will surprise a lot of people, but California actually has one of the lowest state cigarette taxes in the U.S. Californians only pay 87 cents a pack on cigarettes, while the average state cigarette tax in the country is $1.60. California legislators a couple of years ago chickened out and punted … Continue reading California Legislature finally considering raising cigarette taxes $2 a pack<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[350,382],"tags":[688,385],"class_list":["post-3447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","category-cigarette-taxes","tag-california","tag-cigarette-taxes-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The_Wharf_San_Francisco_100s_hard_box_2014_CP12016.jpg?fit=266%2C383&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-TB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3696,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3696","url_meta":{"origin":3447,"position":0},"title":"Another attempt being made to raise cigarette taxes in California","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"January 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"You might not believe this, but cigarette taxes in California are among the lowest in the entire U.S. California's cigarette tax is only 87 cents a pack, which is barely half of the average $1.50 a pack state tax in the U.S. \u00a0California has the 35th-highest state tobacco tax rate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"golden gate bridge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/golden-gate-bridge.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3881,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3881","url_meta":{"origin":3447,"position":1},"title":"Cigarette tax proposals in California, Missouri, West Virginia","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"May 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Good news, bad news on the cigarette tax front. First the good news: California Proponents of raising California's cigarette tax from 87 cents a pack to $2.87 a pack say they have nearly twice as many signatures as needed to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot. They were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/la-me-pol-sac-tom-steyer-tobacco-tax-20160516.jpg?fit=650%2C366&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/la-me-pol-sac-tom-steyer-tobacco-tax-20160516.jpg?fit=650%2C366&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/la-me-pol-sac-tom-steyer-tobacco-tax-20160516.jpg?fit=650%2C366&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3977,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3977","url_meta":{"origin":3447,"position":2},"title":"California voters raise cigarette tax by $2 a pack","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"November 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Lost in all the hubbub over this election (and a reason why I waited a week and a half to post about it) was California voters approving a $2 a pack increase in their cigarette tax. California will go from having one of the lowest cigarette taxes in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sjm-tobacco-09xx-021.jpg?fit=512%2C387&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4189,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4189","url_meta":{"origin":3447,"position":3},"title":"Montana puts huge cigarette tax increase on ballot","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"September 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Another ballot measure to watch. Montana recently put a $2 a pack cigarette tax increase on its ballot to help pay for Medicaid programs. And sure enough, a fishy organization that is quietly funded by RJ Reynolds and Altria is putting out a massive advertising campaign to stop it. Having\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cigarette taxes"","block_context":{"text":"Cigarette taxes","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=382"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Knudsen-and-Big-Tobacco-716x1024.jpg?fit=716%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Knudsen-and-Big-Tobacco-716x1024.jpg?fit=716%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Knudsen-and-Big-Tobacco-716x1024.jpg?fit=716%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Knudsen-and-Big-Tobacco-716x1024.jpg?fit=716%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3961,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3961","url_meta":{"origin":3447,"position":4},"title":"L.A. Times editorial — time to increase California’s cigarette tax","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"October 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Los Angeles Times has come out in favour of Proposition 56, a November ballot initiative which would raise California's cigarette tax by $2 a pack. This is the third time California has tried a ballot measure raising its cigarette tax (The State Legislature is too yellow to do it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/la-1475192517-snap-photo.jpg?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/la-1475192517-snap-photo.jpg?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/la-1475192517-snap-photo.jpg?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/la-1475192517-snap-photo.jpg?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3933,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3933","url_meta":{"origin":3447,"position":5},"title":"Big Tobacco files litigation, raises $17 million to fight California tobacco tax","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"August 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Big Tobacco has already filed bullcrap litigation attempting to get a ballot measure removed from the November 2016 ballot that would raise the California cigarette tax by $2 a\u00a0pack.\u00a0And on top of that, the industry is planning to spend at least $17 million in order to defeat the measure. Big\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/smoking2-698c0074376bea246f3fcf5ab527a5cc.jpg?fit=750%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/smoking2-698c0074376bea246f3fcf5ab527a5cc.jpg?fit=750%2C510&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/smoking2-698c0074376bea246f3fcf5ab527a5cc.jpg?fit=750%2C510&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/smoking2-698c0074376bea246f3fcf5ab527a5cc.jpg?fit=750%2C510&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3449,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3447\/revisions\/3449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}