Benefits From A Cigarette Tax Increase In Wyoming
Current Wyoming Cigarette Tax: 12 Cents Per Pack (5th lowest of all states)
Last Wyoming Cigarette Tax Increase: July 1, 1989<
- Inflation since then: +43.8%
- Increase in average state cigarette prices since then: +150.3% (currently $3.37 per pack)
- Lost annual cigarette tax revenues since then (in current dollars): -$2 million
- There are about 1 million packs of cigarettes sold in Wyoming each month.
Other Tobacco Products Excise Tax: Implemented in 1999
- Excise tax of 20% of wholesale price on all non-cigarette tobacco products
- There is about $12 million in wholesale distributions annually.
Research Shows Increasing Prices Works
- The single most effective way to reduce youth initiation is a significant increase in the price of tobacco. Multiple studies show that a 10% increase of price results in a 7% decline in youth use.
- Higher cigarette excise taxes reduce smoking rates among pregnant women. A 10% increase in price would reduce smoking rates by 7%.
- Facts regarding effects on low-income populations
- Low-income smokers are much more likely to quit because of state tobacco-tax increases the higher-income smokers.
- State tobacco-tax increases shift the overall tobacco-tax burden more toward higher-income smokers.
- State cigarette tax increases give many current smokers a "tax cut."
- State tobacco-tax increases improve the health of low-income smokers and their families and significantly reduce their related costs.
- Low-income voters across America strongly support tobacco-tax increases.
- A 10% increase in price results a 4% reduction in adult tobacco use.
Projected Wyoming Benefits From Increasing State Cigarette Taxes By 50 Cents Per Pack
*50 cents presented for comparison only. As of April 2002, six states have cigarette taxes of $1.00 or more. The highest is New York at $1.50. The average is 46 cents. (see table below) Thirty-seven states are currently working towards or have recently enacted significant cigarette taxes.
- New Wyoming cigarette tax revenues each year: $21.9 million
- Fewer packs of cigarettes smoked each year: 2.9 million
- Number of current adult smokers who would quit: 2,500
- Number of kids alive today who would not become smokers: 3,000
- Number of kids alive today saved from smoking-caused death: 900
- Number of adult smokers saved from smoking-caused death: 500
- 5-Year healthcare savings from fewer smoking-affected pregnancies/births: $0.8 million
- 5-year healthcare savings from fewer smoking-caused heart attacks/strokes: $0.9 million
- Long-term healthcare savings from adult & youth smoking declines: $56.6 million
Cigarette tax increases reduce smoking levels and increase state revenues. The increased tax per pack brings in more new revenue than is lost from the decrease in the number of packs sold. There is also a reduction of health care costs, lives lost, and illness.
