Lawmakers to weigh higher cigarette tax
Legislation promising to raise $42M for early education, public health also would affect e-cigs, smokeless tobacco
Public health advocates and educators are rallying behind a proposal at the Legislature to raise New Mexico’s tax on tobacco and electronic cigarettes.
Two Democratic lawmakers are backing bills that would increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.50, which would nearly double the current levy of $1.66. The legislators, Sen. Howie Morales and Rep. Liz Thomson, also propose raising the tax on electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. They say the tax for cigarettes sold on tribal land would go up, too.
The proposal faces dim prospects when the Legislature convenes next week. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has quashed one tax increase after another. Some critics argue such taxes are regressive, arguably hitting the poorest hardest. And the tobacco industry remains a powerful force at the Roundhouse. Recent lobbyist disclosure reports show Altria, a major cigarette manufacturer, has donated $25,000 to legislators on both sides of the aisle since November.
But with the legislation promising to raise about $42 million annually for early childhood education and public health programs, the proposal has won
prominent backers ranging from the American Cancer Society to the American Federation of Teachers.
Public health advocates argue that while fewer New Mexicans are smoking than in years past, the state must continue to ratchet up its tax on tobacco to discourage a new generation from taking up cigarettes and other nicotine products.
Backers say that as e-cigarettes have grown in popularity as a somewhat less harmful alternative to cigarettes, so have the number of studies linking “vaping” to smoking.
E-cigarettes are subject to the state’s gross receipts tax but not the tax on tobacco products. Thompson and Morales propose to change that, which would in turn boost the cost of e-cigarettes and the flavored nectar used for vaping.
At a news conference to tout the proposal Wednesday, Thompson cited a 2015 survey in which nearly a quarter of New Mexico high school students reported using an electronic cigarette in the previous 30 days.
And a report published by the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this month found youth who used e-cigarettes, hookahs or smokeless tobacco were more likely to smoke within a year.
“They all have risks. They all lead to heavier use of combustible cigarettes,” said Dr. Dona Upson, an associate professor of medicine at The University of New Mexico.
New Mexico’s tax on cigarettes ranks 25th in the country, according to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. The state last raised its tax on tobacco in 2010, from 75 cents a pack to $1.66.
In 2010, the Legislature passed a measure that ostensibly charges a tax on cigarettes sold on Indian land to nontribal members. This proposal would proportionally raise those rates, leaving cigarettes sold on tribal land with a lower tax than those sold elsewhere in the state.
The state Senate passed a similar measure last year on a vote of 24-16. But the measure died in the House.