ACS CAN New Mexico volunteers will push their legislators to support Senate Bill 25, which passed out of the Senate Education Committee on Jan. 24, 2018.
Senate Bill 25, filed by Sen. Howie Morales (D-28), would raise the state’s cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and impose an equivalent tax on other tobacco products including cigars, smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes.
Governor Susana Martinez line-item vetoed all funding to the University of New Mexico, including the nearly $8 million appropriation of state funds to the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center during her actions on House Bill 2, the legislature-approved state budget.
Legislation to raise the state’s cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and impose an equivalent tax on other tobacco products including cigars, smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes, passed the state Senate on a vote of 24-16 on Wednesday.
New Mexico does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to buy tobacco because it is a known carcinogen. However, under current state law, teens can use tanning devices even though the World Health Organization has classified them as “carcinogenic to humans” – the same category in which they classify tobacco. A bill to change that is headed for a vote by the full House of Representatives this week.
Legislation to raise the state’s cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and impose an equivalent tax on other tobacco products including cigars, smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes is gaining support and not just from public health groups.
As the New Mexico legislature continues to debate on how to tackle a large budget deficit, the coalition to increase the tax on tobacco products continues to grow.
Nearly a hundred cancer patients, survivors and caregivers from across the state rode the rails on a whistle stop-style campaign train ride to the state Capitol in Santa Fe today to meet with lawmakers and gain support for cancer-fighting policies.
