Health advocates and state officials want to raise Kentucky's cigarette tax by at least $1
FRANKFORT, Ky. — As Kentucky continues to lead the nation in cigarette smoking – as well as in cancer rates and tobacco-related deaths – health advocates are launching an effort to boost the state's cigarette tax by at least $1 a pack, a move they say is proven to reduce smoking.
"We are the cancer capital of the country," said Ben Chandler, chairman of a group called "Smoke Free Tomorrow," a coalition of nearly 150 health, business and advocacy groups. "We need to cut the smoking rate. We need to cut the cancer rate."
Chandler said he believes Kentuckians would be shocked to realize tobacco, containing the highly addictive drug nicotine, takes a greater toll in Kentucky than opioid addiction.
While about 1,400 people died from drug overdoses in 2016, tobacco causes about 8,900 deaths each year in Kentucky, where a quarter of the population smokes, he said.
Read more: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/life/wellness/health/2018/01/22/kentucky-raise-cigarette-tax-tobacco/1014117001/
= new reply since forum marked as read
