Lung Health News, Spring / Summer 2000
American Lung Associations in California and other health groups successfully fought attempts to repeal the tobacco tax by winning over public support through educational campaigns and media events statewide. Proposition 28 failed passage by 72 percent in the March 7 election.
The statewide initiative would have repealed the tobacco tax passed under Proposition 10 and would have also required all future tobacco taxes to be approved by the California State Legislature instead of through the voter initiative process. The legislature hasn't raised tobacco taxes in 25 years, except for the two cents it tacked on in 1994 to fund breast cancer research.
The owner of discount tobacco stores Cigarettes Cheaper! led the effort to pass Proposition 28.
"This was just another attempt by the tobacco industry to dismantle California's successful tobacco control programs, which are largely funded by tobacco taxes," says Christine L. Bryant, chair of the American Lung Association of California/California Thoracic Society's Government Relations Committee.
Proposition 10 was passed in November 1998 and raised the tobacco tax 50 cents per pack of cigarettes and the equivalent of $1 on other tobacco products. The initiative, which was spearheaded by Rob Reiner and supported by the American Lung Association and other health groups, earmarked tobacco tax revenues for childhood development and other programs aimed at helping young families, including smoking cessation courses for parents who smoke.
Raising the tobacco tax is an important step toward reducing smoking, especially among youth, because the increased cost drives down consumption. Tobacco consumption in California has dropped 30 percent since Proposition 10 became effective January 1.
"Preserving the ability to use the initiative process to raise tobacco taxes is crucial to our efforts to reduce tobacco consumption and deaths in California," Bryant says.
