One hundred and one days past due, the General Assembly finally passed, and the Governor signed, Pennsylvania’s 2009-2010 State Budget. Unfortunately, the budget clearly gives a nod in favor of Big Tobacco.
The budget includes an additional 25-cent tax on cigarettes and cigarillos, which might normally result in a small decrease in smoking rates. However, the budget also slashes tobacco programs by nearly half, which will likely reverse many of the successes seen in Pennsylvania’s tobacco prevention and control programs. An easy solution to preserve this vital funding would have been imposing a tax on smokeless tobacco and cigars. After all, Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that doesn’t tax other tobacco products. Regrettably, Pennsylvania’s lawmakers again put tobacco lobbyists ahead of public health by dismissing the need for a tax on other tobacco products.
The gridlock in passing this year’s budget delayed consideration of many other important legislative issues, such as those being advocated for by AHA. Now that the budget is behind us, we look forward to re-focusing attention on our mission-driven policies. These include expanding state infrastructure for heart disease and stroke and ensuring that schools provide kids with healthy food and beverage choices and adequate physical education.
The budget includes an additional 25-cent tax on cigarettes and cigarillos, which might normally result in a small decrease in smoking rates. However, the budget also slashes tobacco programs by nearly half, which will likely reverse many of the successes seen in Pennsylvania’s tobacco prevention and control programs. An easy solution to preserve this vital funding would have been imposing a tax on smokeless tobacco and cigars. After all, Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation that doesn’t tax other tobacco products. Regrettably, Pennsylvania’s lawmakers again put tobacco lobbyists ahead of public health by dismissing the need for a tax on other tobacco products.
The gridlock in passing this year’s budget delayed consideration of many other important legislative issues, such as those being advocated for by AHA. Now that the budget is behind us, we look forward to re-focusing attention on our mission-driven policies. These include expanding state infrastructure for heart disease and stroke and ensuring that schools provide kids with healthy food and beverage choices and adequate physical education.
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