Hefty cigarette taxes cut smoking big-time. But there’s a downside for children

PRINT

California voters eked out a win for children more than two decades ago based on a “sin tax.” Proposition 10 slapped cigarettes with a hefty surcharge to pressure smokers to give up their habit and used the money to improve the health and well-being of young children and their families.

It worked.

When the measure passed in 1998, about 1.5 billion packs of cigarettes were sold and taxed annually in California. By 2022, sales were down to fewer than 550 million packs.

The downside is the inherent paradox baked into the financing of the measure. The less people smoked over time, the less money was available for early childhood programs.

Read the full article from the Los Angeles Times

Related

Approaches to Improving Early Educators’ Compensation

Early educators remain among the most underpaid workers in the nation despite playing a critical role in child development and enabling workforce participation for parents. Across the country, the median wage for early educators is

Partnering to Enhance Nashville’s Early Literacy Landscape with Nashville Public Library and the Begin Bright Program

TRANSFORMATIVE EARLY LITERACY INITIATIVE AIMS TO BUILD FOUNDATIONAL READING SKILLS IN CHILDREN FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS.  Press Contact: Sydne Lewis, 615-343-9946, sydne.lewis@vanderbilt.edu The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center is proud to announce the launch of a comprehensive

The Impact of State Minimum Wage Increases

In the 20 states where the minimum wage is set at the federal level of $7.25 per hour, full-time workers earning the minimum wage are paid well below the federal poverty line, making it difficult