Experts see hope in tobacco tax hike in Oklahoma
BY CLIFTON ADCOCK and RANDY KREHBIEL - Tulsa World
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Published: March 22, 2009
TULSA — A nicotine fix is about to get a lot more expensive — if it hasn’t already.
Federal taxes on tobacco products will increase substantially April 1. Revenue from the tax increase, estimated at $32.8 billion annually, will pay for an expansion of children’s health care coverage. Smokers who roll their own cigarettes will take the hardest hit. The tax on that type of tobacco will rise from about $1.10 per pound to $24.78 per pound. Taxes on cigarette papers and tubes also are going up — from 1 cent per 50 for papers to 3 cents, and from 2 cents per 50 for tubes to 6 cents. Industry sources say the increases will virtually eliminate the financial advantage of rolling cigarettes instead of buying manufactured smokes. "It’s been the least-expensive way of smoking, but it won’t be anymore,” said Mark Clymer of Ted’s Pipe Shop in Utica Square. Name-brand cigarette smokers already effectively are paying the 62-cent-per-pack hike on their favorite smokes because the nation’s largest manufacturers, including RJ Reynolds and Phillip Morris, raised prices by as much as 75 cents per pack earlier this month. Mathe said prices went up to help cover the manufacturer’s "floor tax” — the tax Phillip Morris will have to pay on every cigarette in its inventory on April 1. Research suggests three-fourths of smokers want to quit. Health professionals hope the increase provides the motivation to push some into cessation programs. Calls to the cessation hot line funded by the state’s Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund increased from an average of 300 to 500 a week to 1,100 in the second week of March, Executive Director Tracy Strater said. "For every 10 percent increase in price, we see a 4 percent decrease in use,” Strater said. "For youth smoking, it’s a 7 percent decrease.” Elizabeth Butler, a Tulsa psychologist whose practice includes cessation treatments, said while financial considerations can be a powerful motivator, they usually aren’t enough — alone — to get someone to give up tobacco. "It’s a strong motivator, but it’s not the primary motivator,” Butler said. "For most people, quality of life and health are the deciding factors.” The price increase is a double-edged sword for tribes and tribal smoke shops, said A.D. Ellis, Muscogee (Creek) Nation principal chief. Higher prices could mean fewer smoking and fewer health problems among tribal citizens, but fewer smoking could mean a hit to revenue, Ellis said.
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This nation is being fleeced by the superwealthy and the sock puppet politicians that represent no one but themselves. The entire nation, not just Oklahoma, is being forced into a neo-feudalist nightmare. Indentured servitude is no longer a thing of the past. No longer can we remain silent. No longer can we sit by complacently as they take away what is rightfully ours. No longer can we bow down to a corrupt government that only sees its citizens as something to be controlled, something to be exploited, something to be lorded over like so many sheep. No longer can we forget the realization that has roused the masses to action through so many years: our destiny rests in our own hands. They can only take our freedom if we let them.
"But Lucas, R-Cheyenne, joined 86 other Republicans voting against the tax on the bonuses on Thursday, saying that it would be unconstitutional to target a specific group of people and punish them with the tax code"........... Really? Targeting a “specific” group of people with a tax code is unconstitutional? Well now, Brad Henry had no problem applying a tax code to smokers and Obama is following suit. I can't think of a more “specific group of people” our State and Federal governments have placed a tax code on to increase the coffers and press a tax punishment on behavior that is not politically correct.......... Truthfully, are politicans interested in the health of citizens or more concerned in the dollars received by such a selection of a "specific" populace forced to comply with a tax code?........... A taxation on bonuses for those who make millions is wrong but taxing some old Joe making $8.00 per hour is a good thing because he/she uses tobacco is acceptable and justified?... Can anyone at the State or Federal level spell hyprocisy or hypocrit?........ I am a Republican, however, if you who represent us continue in your support and approval of the wealthy paying out huge bonuses to these men/women out of taxpayer funds, you deserve to be voted out of office at your next election. You have no shame, ethics or morality of any kind in your regards to those who put you in office. No I do not smoke, but R. Lucas you and our other reps., including my own, represent what is despicable in our State and Federal leadership. Cc: Coburn, Inhofe, Inman, and the White House.
You can google "sale tobacco seeds" minus the quotes & get a nice return of hits on the topic.
Thanks for listening to my view on the matter. Good luck to those who want to quit & good luck to those who don't. ☺ ♥
Anyway, for those of you who really want to quit check out this new e cig to help you quit smoking, or to smoke in banned areas ;) www.invisismoke.com and if you know where I can buy some tobacco seeds let me know!