Montana Senate Passes Lifesaving $1.50 Per Pack Cigarette Tax Increase

Montana Senate Passes Lifesaving $1.50 Per Pack Cigarette Tax Increase  
Senate Bill 354 Would Save Lives and Reduce Tobacco-Related Disease and Death

Statement from Kristin Page Nei, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Montana Government Relations Director

Helena, MT—March 30, 2017—Senate Bill (SB) 354 passed the Montana Senate today and now heads to Montana House of Representatives. The bill would raise the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack with an equivalent tax on all other tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes. Following is a statement from Kristin Page Nei, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Montana Government Relations Director:

“We are grateful to Senator Caferro and her Senate colleagues for passing Senate Bill 354 to save lives and reduce the devastating impact of tobacco use. Each year, 1,600 Montanans die from tobacco use, the leading cause of preventable death in our state.

“Significantly increasing tobacco taxes is one of the best ways to encourage people to quit smoking and prevent kids from starting. Montana has above-average smoking rates with 13 percent of the state’s high schoolers and 19 percent of adults smoking cigarettes, and a whopping 30 percent of Montana teens using e-cigarettes.

“A $1.50 per pack cigarette tax increase is projected to save 3,900 Montanans from premature death caused by smoking, while helping 7,200 current smokers quit. Youth smoking rates are projected to decrease by 16 percent. Unless we reduce smoking rates, roughly 19,000 Montana kids that are alive today will ultimately die from this deadly addiction.

"Every state that has significantly increased its tobacco tax has seen substantial decrease in the number of cigarette packs sold. That means fewer people dying from cancer and other tobacco-related diseases and lower health care costs overall.

“We applaud the Montana Senate for passing this lifesaving $1.50 per pack tobacco tax increase and we look forward to working with the House to pass it quickly too.”

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.