Strong Majority of Kentucky Voters Favor $1 Cigarette Tax Increase

Jan 8th, 2009

Kentucky voters strongly support a substantial increase in the state cigarette tax, with 69 percent saying they would back a $1 increase, according to a new poll released today by a coalition of Kentucky health leaders. Read the poll results here or view a slide show on key findings.

The $1 cigarette tax increase is 30 cents more than the 70 cents proposed by Governor Beshear to help solve the state budget crisis, and would allow Kentucky to take a major step toward reducing its highest-in-the-nation smoking rate. Health leaders are calling on legislators to listen to Kentuckians and approve a substantial increase to the state’s 30-cent per pack cigarette tax, both to reduce smoking among kids and to generate critical new revenue.

“The cigarette tax is a proven strategy to protect thousands of Kentucky kids from tobacco addiction while, at the same time, helping the state address budget concerns,” said Paul Kiser, Director of the state tobacco control coalition, Kentucky ACTION. “The Legislature should listen to the people of Kentucky and act quickly to increase the cigarette tax to at least $1 a pack.”

Governor Beshear previously announced his plans to propose a 70-cent cigarette tax increase this year to help alleviate the state’s budget shortfall – an increase level that voters support by a more than two-to-one margin (68 percent to 30 percent), according to the poll results. But a $1 cigarette tax increase generated near identical support (69 percent), showing Beshear and other state leaders that voters are ready for a significant increase in the tax to raise much-needed revenue and reduce state smoking rates.

Support for a significant tobacco tax increase is evident among virtually every political and demographic subgroup of voters in the Bluegrass State, as majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents, men and women, young and old, and residents of all parts of the state support the tax. “The cigarette tax is clearly not a partisan issue,” said pollster Glen Bolger of the polling firm Public Opinion Strategies.

The survey of 500 registered Kentucky voters was released by a coalition of health groups led by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Kentucky ACTION and Kentucky Voices for Health. In announcing its results, the group declared a cigarette tax increase a “trifecta” win for Kentucky.

“A $1 increase in the state’s cigarette excise tax is a win for public health because it will reduce smoking, particularly among kids; it’s a win for the state’s fiscal health because it will raise more than $275 million in new annual revenues for the state, and it’s and a win for politicians who support it because of overwhelming voter support,” said Mike Kuntz, Senior Director of Advocacy, American Lung Association of the Midland States.

The poll found that increasing the tobacco tax is the most favored approach for addressing the state budget deficit. A majority of voters (68 percent) say they favor increasing the tobacco tax to make sure the state balances the budget. Fewer than one-third of Kentucky voters support the other tax increases or spending cuts that may be necessary to balance the budget, including increasing the state sales tax or income tax, reducing funding for education, reducing funding for Medicaid and other health care programs, and reducing funding for law enforcement, prisons and juvenile justice. “Among the options that are on the table, increasing the cigarette tax is clearly the preferred solution to the state’s revenue crisis,” said Bolger.

The poll also shows that many Kentucky voters will express their support for a tobacco tax increase at the voting booth. Overall, 44 percent of voters, including a plurality of Democrats and Republicans, are more likely to support a candidate who backs the tobacco tax proposal. Just 17 percent of voters are less likely to support a candidate who favors increasing the tobacco tax.

Kentucky currently ranks 47^th in the nation with a tax of 30 cents per pack, far below the national average of $1.19. Meanwhile, tobacco-related healthcare costs in the state total $1.5 billion per year – including more than $487 million in Medicaid costs alone. That amounts to a hidden tax of $595 per Kentucky household each year. “By increasing the cigarette tax, Kentucky will reduce smoking, save lives and help offset the rising health care costs caused by smoking,” said Dr. Michael Bousamra Head of Thoracic Surgery at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and Director of Lung Transplantation at Jewish Hospital.

Large bodies of economic research, numerous expert panels, experience in other states, and even reports from the tobacco industry have concluded decisively that price increases effectively reduce smoking, especially among youth. The U.S. Surgeon General, in his 2000 report Reducing Tobacco Use, concluded that raising cigarette taxes is widely regarded as one of the most effective tobacco prevention strategies and that such increases would lead to “substantial long-run improvements in health.” A $1 increase in Kentucky’s cigarette tax would prevent over 78,000 Kentucky kids alive today from becoming addicted smokers. The additional revenue from a $1 increase would provide the state with an immediate boost of well over $200 million in revenue in the first year alone.

Kentucky ACTION has posted a complete package of press materials including background on the polling company and a list of all survey questions and answers.

The survey was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, Inc. The statewide poll has a random sample of 500 registered likely Kentucky voters and was conducted December 15-16, 2008. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.38 percentage points.

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