Ballot Measure 108 | Increasing taxes on statistically poor smokers during a collectively stressful time is not good policy
This measure would raise taxes on cigarettes $2–$2.50 per pack and raise the limit on the taxable percentage of cigars. It would also establish a tax that’s 65% of the wholesale price on e-cigarette and vape tobacco products. Oregon does not tax vape products at present.
This was a tough call because raising taxes on cigarettes correlates with a decrease in smoking — a good thing. But as an organization that advocates for the poor and disenfranchised, Street Roots is opposing this tax because the timing couldn’t be worse for poor Oregonians who are already struggling with the stress and economic fallout from the pandemic — and who are also more likely to smoke.
According to 2018 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking rates are highest among people who never finished high school and those who have a GED and among people earning less than $35,000.
A study of American smokers in 2010-11 found smokers earning less than $30,000 a year spent 14% of their income on cigarettes.
A selling point of this measure is that it will establish a tax on vaping devices and e-cigarettes, which are appealing to children due to their enticing flavors. If Oregon wants to deter tobacco use among youths, a better approach would be to ban flavored products rather than making them slightly more expensive in order to create a new state revenue stream.
Banning flavored tobacco products is exactly what lawmakers are considering in Vermont, where 50% of teens have tried them in some form, according to the state’s 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. In Oregon, 34% of 11th graders reported having tried a flavored tobacco product during the same year.
Additionally, continuing to raise taxes on Oregon’s smokers runs counter to the idea that addiction is a health care issue. Nicotine addiction is powerful, and this tax will be paid by many people who cannot afford it but who feel powerless in avoiding it.
Implementing this tax at one of the most collectively stressful times in modern American history is like kicking many tobacco-addicted Oregonians when they are already down. We need to put our energy toward increasing Oregon’s low corporate tax rates rather than pulling more dollars out of poor Oregonians’ pockets.
Street Roots endorsements represent the opinion of the Street Roots organization and editorial board.
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