A city health commission proposal supports raising the state tax on cigarettes. Photo used under a Creative Commons license by indi ca, www.flickr.com/photos/indi.
Missouri has the nation’s lowest state cigarette tax and city health officials have not been able to change that, but they went on record Friday in strong support of higher federal taxes.
The Kansas City Health Commission approved a resolution supporting a proposed federal tax increase of 94 cents a pack.
The resolution now goes to the city council.
The higher tax may help reduce tobacco use and save lives, it states.
It notes that more than 18 percent of high school students still smoke and “nearly 1,000 kids become regular smokers each day.”
The Missouri tax of 17 cents a pack is the nation’s lowest and vastly below the national average of $1.46 a pack, it states.
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