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Joe Pyrah
Utah County lawmakers and the governor say a bill that may make the majority of smokeless tobacco less expensive has more to do with fixing tax policy than keeping kids from buying it.
But while the tax change will "stabilize the system," it could also lower the cost of the two most dominant brands on the market: Skoal and Copenhagen. Those brands happen to be the brands most preferred by users 12 and older, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That worries health officials.
The bill was opposed by the state's own Health Department and the 28-member Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Utah.
"Anything that increases the opportunity for kids or adults to use tobacco is absolutely terrible not only to their health but our health care system," said coalition president Kurt Micka.
House Bill 356 changes how "moist snuff" is taxed, from a 35-percent tax on the wholesale price to 75 cents on the ounce. Changing it to tax by weight is similar to quantity taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.
"It levels the playing field so tax policy doesn't determine winners and losers," said Sen. Curt Bramble, who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Becky Lockhart, both R-Provo.
Lockhart said there's no guarantee the price of snuff will go down on the high end because the market will control that, not government. The No. 1 complaint she heard against the bill was that it could cut into tax revenues. The bill's financial impact is regarded as neutral, but opponents say it won't be neutral at all.
Under the tax on wholesale system, taxes increased with inflation, "a weight based system would remain stagnant. In order to match the rate of inflation under a weight-based system, state Legislature/tax officials would be required to ask for frequent increases in the tax rate," according to information from the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Utah.
Bill proponents have also said it would raise the price of low-cost snuff, making it more difficult for minors to get their hands on tobacco. Lockhart said some snuff is available at 49 cents a can.
"That's like a candy bar for a kid," she said.
Nearly half the states in the country have passed similar laws, and Lockhart says a company is "less likely to game a system" if it's based on weight instead of on wholesale costs.
As to whether the bill is intended to actually lower the number of people using tobacco, Lockhart said that would be a nice side effect, but it that wasn't the thrust of the bill.
"Yeah it is a terrible substance," she said. "But it is a legal substance."
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed the bill a week ago and the change will go into effect in the beginning of May.
"More than anything it normalizes the tax policy," said spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley.
Tobacco facts:
• Smokeless tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing agents. It is a known cause of human cancer, as it increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity. Oral health problems strongly associated with smokeless tobacco use are leukoplakia (a lesion of the soft tissue that consists of a white patch or plaque that cannot be scraped off) and recession of the gums.
• Smokeless tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence.
• Adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers.
• During 2005, the five largest tobacco manufacturers spent a new record of $250.79 million on smokeless tobacco advertising and promotion.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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