Cigarette tax will help budget and save lives

Md. Citizens' Health Initiative

The legislature is considering legislation to increase taxes on cigarettes. This would both raise funds to help resolve Maryland's remaining "structural budget deficit," and would discourage smoking - especially among teenagers and young adults.

Senate Bill 700 and House Bill 683 would increase the tobacco tax rate from $2.00 to $3.00 per pack. It would also increase the tax rate on other tobacco products (like chewing tobacco and pipe tobacco) from 30 percent to 95 percent of the wholesale price (excluding certain cigars), and mandates minimum and maximum tax rates for certain other tobacco products. These bills would also guarantee at least $21 million in annual funding for tobacco cessation programs, beginning in fiscal year 2015, and divert additional funding to other health care programs.


The Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute supports these bills because of the significant public health benefits of reducing smoking. Previous increases in the tobacco tax have reduced smoking in Maryland twice as fast as the national average, saving lives and taxpayers’ money by reducing the need for health care. Adding another dollar to the per-pack cost, along with the other increases in SB 700 and HB 683, will save many more lives.

It will also raise money for important health programs—perhaps as much as $81.5 million in fiscal year 2014 according to the fiscal note.

SB 700 and HB 683 would also put the brakes on the disturbing upward trend in cigar use by young Marylanders. Increasing the tax on these products to put them more on par with cigarettes would quickly reduce the number of underage users of these products, protecting their health and well-being.