Cigarette Taxes "Disporportionatelt Burden" The Poor, Report Says

Cigarette Taxes ‘Disproportionately Burden’ the Poor, Report Says

Posted at http://www.actiontoquit.org/news/Cigarette-Taxes-Disproportionately-Burden-the-Poor-Report-Says/ reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com

September 18, 2012 New research finds that high cigarette taxes take a heavy toll on low-income smokers, compared to those who are wealthier. In a study, researchers at RTI International found that poor smokers in New York state—which has the country’s highest state cigarette tax at $4.35 a pack—spent about 25 percent of their household income on cigarettes. Nationally, the average spending was about 14 percent. By contrast, the richest smokers nationwide and in New York spent about 2 percent of their household income on cigarettes.

“Excise taxes are effective in changing smokers’ behavior,” study author Matthew Farrelly, chief scientist and senior director of RTI’s public health policy research program, said in an RTI statement. “But not all smokers are able to quit, and low-income smokers are disproportionately burdened by these taxes.”

For More Information:
http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?Docid=668663&source=govdelivery