State health groups support cigarette fee
A new cigarette wholesaler fee could effectively reduce smoking in Oklahoma, state experts and officials said.
The 2018 state budget bill, which Gov. Mary Fallin signed Wednesday, will enforce a fee of $1.50 per pack on cigarette wholesalers. Multiple health entities expressed support for the legislation, including the American Lung Association and the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center.
The Oklahoma Department of Health described smoking as the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the state. Oklahoma ranks 40th in the nation in adult smoking rates with more than 600,000 adult smokers, according to a state department of health report.
Dr. Robert McCaffree, research center associate director of policy, said increasing the price of cigarettes through taxes and fees is the most effective way to encourage people to quit smoking or prevent them from starting.
“We know that 50 to 75 percent of current smokers want to quit, so having another reason to quit, I think, is important,” said McCaffree, a pulmonary doctor and professor at the University of Oklahoma. “This is just another impetus for them to do what they already want to do.”
Terri Bailey, executive director of the American Lung Association in Oklahoma, said she was excited to see the fee passed. Increasing the price of cigarettes will move the state in the right direction by disrupting a deadly pattern, she said.
“It’s really important that we’re doing something that breaks the cycle of addiction and the illnesses that are caused by cigarettes,” Bailey said. “Every single day thousands of kids will pick up a cigarette for the very first time, and we’re hoping that this truly does impact that and in a positive way.”
About 2 to 4 percent of smokers will quit for every 10 percent price increase, McCaffree said. With the average Oklahoma cigarette retail price at $5.55, the addition of $1.50 per pack will drive up state prices by 27 percent, almost tripling the potential number of those who quit.
The state Department of Health predicted that increasing the price of cigarette packs by $1.50 could reduce cigarette consumption in Oklahoma by 26 million packs in the first year, according to a report. Other estimated benefits include reducing the prevalence of adult smoking by 5 percent and deterring 28,000 children from becoming adult smokers.
McCaffree said he was happy with the $1.50 fee because it will increase prices to a level tobacco industries can’t remedy with coupons or special deals.
The fee is not only a measure to prevent smoking, but it also will draw revenue for state government. The new fee is expected to bring in more than $257 million in 2018, according to an Oklahoma Tax Commission evaluation.
Revenue from the fee will go to a Health Care Enhancement Fund, which will put the funding toward health care costs of smoking. Out of the expected revenue, $1 million will go to the Oklahoma ABLE Commission Revolving Fund.
Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, proposed the fee and said as smoking rates decrease, the state can expect less in revenue from it. Drawing revenue, though, has always been secondary to reducing the number of smokers, she said.
“If you want to drive down smoking, you’re going to have a diminishing return,” Osborn said. “I’ve always said, ‘Yes that’s how I want it.’”