Legislation : Tobacco Tax Increase Resolution

North Dakota Public Health Association Resolution Supporting a Tobacco Tax Increase

Whereas, tobacco use is a significant public health problem and tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in North Dakota and in the United States. [i]  

Whereas, the 2000 Report of the Surgeon General states “raising tobacco excise taxes is widely regarded as one of the most effective tobacco prevention and control strategies. Increasing the price of tobacco products will decrease the prevalence of tobacco use, particularly among adolescents and young adults.”[ii]

Whereas, current research indicates that interventions to increase the unit price for tobacco products are effective both in reducing the number of people who start using tobacco and increasing the number who quit.[iii]

Whereas, youth smoking and smokeless tobacco use rates in North Dakota rank among the highest in the nation and smoking rates among pregnant women are at 17 percent compared to 12 percent nationwide, and among Native Americans, the smoking rate is 45 percent, twice the rate as non-natives.[iv]

Whereas, the current excise tax in North Dakota on cigarettes is 44 cents per pack, ranking 36th in the nation.  The last significant increase in the tax occurred in 1993 when the tax was raised from 29 cents to the current 44 cents per pack. Since January 1, 2002, 35 states have passed 45 separate cigarette tax increases. South Dakota and Montana have increased their tax levels above the North Dakota rate.[v]

Therefore, be it resolved, that the North Dakota Public Health Association
 
Supports passage and enactment of a state law significantly increasing the North Dakota cigarette excise tax, with equal increases on other tobacco products.

Adopted by North Dakota Public Health Association, March 8, 2005

REFERENCES

[i]   McGinnis J, Foege WH. Actual causes of death in United States. Journal of American Medical Association 1993;270:2207–2212
[ii] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General—Executive Summary. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2000.
[iii] http://www.thecommunityguide.org/tobacco/tobac-int-unit-price.pdf, Accessed May 24, 2004
[iv] Written communication with Kathleen Mangskau, Director Tobacco Prevention and Control, North Dakota Department of Health, June 3, 2004.
[v] Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, www.tobaccofreekids.org.