New York public health leaders celebrate ‘great win’ on cigarette tax rise
Come September, New York smokers will be paying more for their pack of cigarettes. Included in the state budget was a provision that raises the cigarette tax from $4.35 to $5.35 a pack. Sarah Ravenhall, executive director of the New York State Association of County Health Officials, told Capital Tonight that the increase is a “great win for public health.”
According to the state Department of Health, an all-time low rate of New Yorkers are smoking, at 12%, which is about 1.7 million New Yorkers. Nationally, according to Ravenhall, every 10% increase in cigarette taxes reduced youth smoking by 7%, and overall, the rate goes down by 4%.
At the start of the budget process, a proposed menthol flavor ban was tied with the cigarette tax. However, the flavor ban was ditched after it ran into opposition from legislators, including Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes.
Source: Spectrum News