MARLBORO - WINSTON - L&M - CAMEL - PARLIAMENT - KENT - CLASSIC

The tobacco industries and its supporters will say almost anything for to avoid an increase in the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products in order to keep smokers smoking and get young people addicted.

They know that the higher the price is the fewer kids start smoking and the more smokers quit. As a result, they resort to a series of well-worn myths based on wrong research and completely false claims that are designed to scare and intimidate, creating a smokescreen of economic grief to hide the truth about improved health and a reduced financial burden on taxpayers and businesses.

The tobacco industry declared that cigarette tax revenue is not an expected source of state income. But after a full investigation the anti-smoking researchers gainsaid the tobacco industries affirmation, they showed that cigarette tax revenue is clearly the more reliable revenue stream.

The tobacco owners supposed that Maine smokers will gather to New Hampshire to buy their cigarettes when prices in Maine go up. The reality is that when Maine raises its cigarette tax, New Hampshire sales don’t respond. In fact, after each of Maine’s last four tax increases, New Hampshire cigarette sales per capita were lower than they had been the previous year.

Another myth is that Internet cigarette sales are growing rapidly and will only get worse with a tax increase. The truth is that less than 2% of Maine smokers buy their cigarettes over the Internet, and Maine’s law regulating Internet sales ensures that tax abolition and under age sales are minimized.

Antagonists of a tax increase affirmed that the cigarette tax is regressive and that it disproportionately hurts low-income smokers. In fact, low-income people are the hardest hit by the effects of tobacco use and are specifically targeted by tobacco industry promotions.

In a study was showed that smokers who quit, save money on both cigarettes and health care costs. Over 70% of smokers want to quit, and for some, raising the price of cigarettes may be what they need to be successful.

Those who profit from cigarettes also claim that raising the tax will hurt retailers who sell cigarettes. No data are offered to support these claims, and it is certainly difficult to have sympathy for those who put profits over health, especially the health of children and the poor.

Perhaps the biggest myth is that a cigarette tax is just another tax that adds to our overall tax load. The reality is quite the opposite. A cigarette tax actually saves money for taxpayers and businesses, not to mention the lives of our families, friends, and neighbors.

It’s time to cut through the myths and see tobacco taxes for what they are: a powerful economic tool that supports businesses, taxpayers and Maine families by reducing the death and disease of tobacco addiction.