Publications
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How Should Insurers Treat Tobacco Use? A Review of the Research
Publication -Policy Briefs -For insurers, the most salient fact about tobacco use can be summarized simply: overwhelming scientificevidence indicates that all widely used forms of tobacco harm human health. -
Research & Commentary: Illinois Cigarette Tax Won’t Fix Medicaid
Publication -Research and Commentaries -After raising the state’s personal income and corporate tax last year, Illinois is considering a $1 per pack hike in the state’s cigarette tax. Advocates claim the tax would help pay for ballooning Medicaid costs, which are over budget by $2.7 billion. -
Research & Commentary: Tobacco Harm Reduction
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Nearly 50 million American adults—more than a fifth of the nation’s adult population—smoke cigarettes. After vigorous efforts aimed at reducing that figure, the percentage of Americans who smoke has fallen by almost half in the past four decades. -
Research & Commentary: Idaho’s Tobacco Tax Advantage
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Idaho House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Dennis Lake (R-Blackfoot) says he wants to increase the state’s cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack, to help curb smoking and raise revenue. -
Research & Commentary: Idaho’s Tobacco Tax Advantage
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Idaho House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Dennis Lake (R-Blackfoot) says he wants to increase the state’s cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack, to help curb smoking and raise revenue. -
Five Things to Consider Before Raising Tobacco Taxes: A Review of the Research
Publication -Policy Briefs -Tobacco use poses well-known health risks. Smokers, on average, die earlier than nonsmokers. Estimates of lost life expectancy range from two or three years to 14 years; most researchers agree on six to eight years. -
Research & Commentary: South Carolina Cigarette Tax Ignores Real Budget Problems
Publication -Research and Commentaries -South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto of a 50-cents-per-pack cigarette tax hike shows he understands such tax hikes are bad for the state’s economy and bad for all of the state’s taxpayers, not just those who smoke. -
What A Smoking Ban Would Mean For Indiana
Publication -Research and Commentaries -While Indiana’s legislature and citizens debate the merits of a draconian statewide smoking ban, business owners are already taking steps to balance the wishes of the smoking and nonsmoking populations. -
Virginia Needs Spending Reform, Not Higher Cigarette Taxes
Publication -Research and Commentaries -For years tobacco consumers have been flocking to Virginia to take advantage of the 30 cents-per-pack cigarette tax in order to avoid taxes in Maryland and Washington, DC, where the tax is currently $2.00 per pack. This week Gov. -
Research & Commentary: What A Smoking Ban Would Mean for Michigan
Publication -Research and Commentaries -People often support smoking bans in order to be protected from the nuisance of smoking environments in restaurants, bars, casinos, and other businesses. -
Kansas Can’t Afford A Cigarette Tax Hike
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The Kansas Health Policy Authority’s recommendation to use a 75-cent cigarette tax increase to pay for health costs should be worrisome—not only to smokers, but also to non-smokers and fiscally responsible legislators as well. -
Raising New Hampshire’s Cigarette Tax Is Bad Tax Policy
Publication -Research and Commentaries -A 25 percent increase in New Hampshire's cigarette tax, scheduled to go into effect today, has been put on hold until audits can be completed to determine just how much revenue the tax has raised so far this year. -
Cigarette Tax Hikes: A Feeble Attempt to Cut Smoking Rates and Balance the Budget
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Last week, the Kentucky House of Representatives approved a 25 cent increase in the state's cigarette tax in an effort to help eliminate the state's budget deficit. The tax hike is part of a budget plan proposed by Gov. -
Why Is Science Being Ignored?
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The February issue of the British Medical Journal (http://heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=22811) confirms what research has shown for years: smokeless tobacco is less harmful than traditional smoking. -
Federal Excise Tax on Tobacco
Publication -Research and Commentaries -What does children’s health insurance have to do with tobacco tax? That is the question some policymakers are asking as new revenue is sought for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). -
Please Don’t Poop in My Salad
Publication -Books -Please Don’t Poop in My Salad features a collection of essays by Heartland President Joseph L. Bast defending smokers against laws abridging their right to free association and taxes that punish them for a personal lifestyle choice. -
No. 83 The States vs. The Tobacco Industry: Smoke and Assorted Mirrors (full text – pdf)
Publication -Policy Studies -Between 1994 and 1997, more than twenty state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against major tobacco companies seeking reimbursements for the billions of dollars paid by state governments through Medicaid and other programs dealing with the