Senate Votes for a Healthier South Carolina
Commits $5 million to smoking prevention and $77 million to premium assistance
Columbia, SC - Today the South Carolina Senate approved a 50-cent-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes and similarly packaged items. The increase is expected to generate $159 million in new revenue for the state. The bill (H.3567) designates that $5 million annually be placed in the Smoking Prevention and Cessation Trust Fund. The remaining revenue, an estimated $154 million, will be divided equally between a healthcare premium assistance plan and expanding the eligibility of Medicaid to include more low-income families.
The bill passed by the Senate has two main focal points. The first is a statewide smoking cessation and prevention program, and second is extending private and public healthcare coverage to approximately 150,000 to 200,000 of the state’s uninsured residents.
“The revenue is really an additional benefit to a healthier state,” says Senator Thomas Alexander, chair of the Special Senate Finance Subcommittee that has been reviewing information related to a cigarette-tax increase since January. “If we reduce the number of smokers we all win. It’s certainly a win for all those individuals we’ll never know by name, who would have had countless health issues caused by smoking, but never started smoking because of our actions here today”
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids cites numerous studies that show increasing the price of cigarettes is the single largest factor in reducing the number of smokers. A 2000 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report, Reducing Tobacco Use, confirmed that increasing the price of tobacco products decreased tobacco use, specifically among youth and young adults. Studies have also shown that every 10 percent increase in the real price of cigarettes reduces the number of youth who smoke by at least seven percent. Senator Alexander said, “The Senate has been dedicated to a smoking cessation and prevention program throughout this process.”
“Teens are very price sensitive and if tobacco products are more expensive it will have a tremendous impact on teen smoking,” says Sharon Biggers, Division Director of the Tobacco Prevention and Control program at the Department of Health and Environmental Control. “Currently, about 19 percent of the youth in the state smoke and there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to educate youth about the dangers of tobacco use.” The $5 million of proposed funding from the Smoking Prevention and Cessation trust fund will allow the Tobacco Prevention and Control to expand both youth and adult program statewide.
Premium Assistance
Assistance Program, which will be administered by the Department of Insurance. The program will provide up to three years of monthly premium assistance for South Carolina residents who have been without health coverage for the last 12 months. Qualified individuals age 19 to 64, who have been a U.S and South Carolina citizen for at least one year will be able to receive an average of $2,000 annually to pay insurance premiums on a qualifying health plan.
Currently, many uninsured individuals are forced to seek medical attention at hospital emergency rooms where healthcare is often more expensive and less efficient than similar care provide in a physician’s office.
“The Senate has demonstrated a great concern for uninsured South Carolinians,” says Senator Alexander. “We are serious about helping them not only access healthcare, but also providing increased availability of healthcare either through Medicaid or through premium assistance.”
As of January 1, 2008 the per pack cigarette tax for neighboring states is: Alabama - 42.5 cents, Florida - 33.9 cents, Georgia - 37 cents, North Carolina - 35 cents, Tennessee - 62 cents, and Virginia 30 cents. The increase moves the state from last in the nation at 7 cents to 39th in the nation with a total per pack tax of 57 cents. The last time the General Assembly addressed cigarette tax was in 1977.
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