The Tobacco Tax Makes Dollars And Sense

Yet the federal tobacco tax has not been increased since 2002. And as a result, for the first time in decades, smoking rates have leveled off instead of declined.

Increasing the price of tobacco may cause some to balk and complain in the short term. But when a teenager doesn’t start smoking because it’s not within his or her budget, or a cancer patient is forced to quit because it’s not within his, this is not a loss. Economically and morally, it’s money well saved.