WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF FLORIDA’S TOBACCO TAX?

Florida’s current cigarette excise tax is 34 cents per pack, ranking it the 43rd state (45th including District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) in 2004 and has not increased its tax since 1990. Eleven states raised their cigarette taxes in 2005, increasing the average state cigarette tax to $0.91 per pack. Seventeen states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are at $1.00 or higher and three states – Michigan, New Jersey and Rhode Island are at or over $2.00 per pack.

WHAT IS TOBACCO’S TOLL IN FLORIDA?

Tobacco use imposes enormous costs on the state of Florida. The cost to the Medicaid program alone is $976 million. Total annual health costs are nearly $5 billion and the combined costs including lost productivity exceed $10 billion. Every year 40,000 people in Florida die from tobacco caused illnesses while the tobacco industry spends over ¾ of a billion dollars to encourage people to smoke.  Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the country, causing over 440,000 deaths in the United States annually, including 30,000 in Florida.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNINSURANCE IN FLORIDA?

Exorbitant health care costs, compounded by the number of uninsured individuals in Florida, is a disaster in the making and call for immediate action. Annual health care costs in Florida directly caused by smoking are $6.32 billion. Additionally, about 3.1 million Floridians, close to 20% of the state population, are uninsured costing taxpayers $7 billion in 2006, according to the Florida Medical Association. They place strain on their own families, their communities and the health care network for all. Insured Floridians pay most of the cost of health care for the uninsured through higher health insurance premiums amounting to $468 per individual policy and $1,313 for a family policy. Meanwhile, the state forgoes $234 million in federal assistance through the Medicaid program that could be used to cover low-income children and families and would bring in an additional 3,000 jobs, and $110 million in wages and salaries to the state. WHY INCREASE FLORIDA’S TOBACCO EXCISE TAX?

FLORIDA CAN BEGIN TO ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS BY INCREASING THE TOBACCO TAX AND USING THE FUNDING TO EXPAND ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE. A major increase in the taxes on cigarettes will rapidly and significantly reduce the number of smokers. Numerous studies show that increasing cigarette excise taxes is the gold standard for reducing smoking among both youth and adults. For instance, studies have shown that a 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces consumption by seven percent for youth and consumption by four percent for adults. Studies also show that minority, younger and lower-income populations are more likely to reduce or quit smoking in response to price increases. Increasing Florida’s cigarette excise tax would generate additional revenue for critically needed programs. If the Florida legislature increased the cigarette tax by just $1.00 per pack, it will generate an estimated $847 million in new revenue each year. Additionally, it would provide significant health care savings by reducing the incidence of tobacco disease.