Higher cigarette taxes could be on the way

Go buy a pack of cigarettes anywhere in Louisiana today and you’ll pay 36 cents per pack in taxes, which is well below the national average of $1.45. But that may possibly change. Stewart Gordon, president of the Louisiana chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Baton Rouge Press Club earlier this month that his organization is actively supporting increasing taxes on cigarettes. With the state facing a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, the idea is sure to stimulate more than a few lawmakers. “We do support a tobacco tax,” Stewart told the press club. The American Cancer Society is also behind a letter-writing campaign because, as it argues, Louisiana cigarettes are “cheap,” which in turn increases availability and creates one of the highest smoking rates for adults and young people in the nation. In 2009, the last time the Louisiana Legislature conducted a fiscal session, the House Health and Welfare Committee rejected a tax hike of $1, which would have created a new state tax of $1.36 per pack of cigarettes. The proposal did pass the Senate. Yet even if the tax increase did pass muster on the House side, Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has veto authority, is strongly opposed to increasing any taxes. For the rest of 10/12 Corridor Weekly, click here.—Jeremy Alford