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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 19, 2015 12:20 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Andrew E. Dinniman |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Tax on smokeless tobacco |
| Please join me in legislation to tax smokeless tobacco, introduced as Senate Bill 765 in the 2013-14 session. Pennsylvania remains the only state that does not tax this product. According to a Franklin and Marshall College survey, 72 percent of Pennsylvanians favor taxing smokeless tobacco. Such policy is also supported by the Pennsylvania chapters of the American Cancer Society and American Dental Association. Nearly 19 percent of Pennsylvania high school seniors have used smokeless tobacco, according to the 2013 Pennsylvania Youth Survey Report – more than the 17 percent figure for high school seniors nationwide. The survey further found that more than 10.3 percent of Pennsylvania seniors had used smokeless tobacco in the last 30 days vs. 8.1 percent nationally. The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed that increases in tobacco prices cause youth who use it to either quit or decrease their use. In my bill, the tax would be assessed on the smokeless tobacco distributor or wholesaler and be 59.2 percent of the wholesale price. Last session's bill was co-sponsored by senators FONTANA, TARTAGLIONE, COSTA, ERICKSON, FARNESE, FERLO, WILLIAMS, HUGHES, VANCE and BREWSTER. |
Introduced as SB680