Statement of John L. Kirkwood President and Chief Executive Officer American Lung Association

American Lung Association
Monday, 25 February 2002

Tobacco Tax Challenge News Conference
Washington, DC
February 25, 2002

Good afternoon. I am John Kirkwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Lung Association. We've been fighting lung disease for nearly 100 years. A major focus of our work in recent decades has been the prevention of disease and death related to tobacco use.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in this country. A simple, politically viable and fiscally smart solution to this public health crisis exists in the form of higher excise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Fortunately, a growing number of states are recognizing the benefits of enacting significant increases in their tobacco taxes. Each year the American Lung Association issues a report on state tobacco laws enacted the previous year. The latest edition of that report, entitled "2001 State Legislated Action on Tobacco Issues," shows that four states raised their tobacco taxes last year. Six states now have cigarettes taxes of $1 or more. Significant cigarette tax increases are now being considered by at least 22 states.

I predict that cigarette taxes of $1 or more per pack will soon be the norm rather than the exception. That's great news for public health.

The state of New York is a good example of progress being made on this front.

I would like to congratulate Governor Pataki of New York, my new home state, for passage of a 39-cent cigarette tax increase. That increase takes effect on April 3, raising New York's tax to $1.50 per pack – the highest in the nation.

The expected impact of this increase is astounding. It will prevent 56,300 children in New York from starting to smoke. It will save 18,000 children from early death from tobacco use. It will mean 53,700 fewer adult smokers. It will bring the state an additional $352.1 million in new revenues each year. And, it will save the state $1.1 billion in long-term health care costs.

New York is just one example of how much a state and its citizens can benefit from an increase in the tobacco tax. Other sates can and should reap similar benefits.

My message today to every governor in the country is this: If you want to keep kids from smoking, motivate adults to stop, help fund comprehensive tobacco-control programs, trim future health care costs and raise new dollars to plug holes in your budgets, then increase your tobacco excise taxes. Everyone wins with that formula.

Thank you.

For more information, or to contact American Lung Association, see their website at: www.lungusa.org