Lawmakers and a coalition of groups seeking a boost in the state cigarette tax are making one last pitch, hoping the Legislature will vote to raise the tax as much as one-dollar-per-pack. Republican Representative Henry Rayhons of Garner has authored a bill that would do just that.Rayhons says research shows raising the tax a buck a pack would reduce underage smoking by as much as 21 percent. But most Republicans object to raising the cigarette tax. Representative Ro Foege, a democrat from Mt. Vernon, says Republicans may change their tune before the 2003 session’s over. Foege says there’s a “huge scramble” for extra dough, including a push to use cigarette taxes to finance a new state economic development fund. The state tax on cigarettes is currently 36 cents per pack. The national average is 67 cents per pack. Iowa Medical Society President Tom Evans, a doctor, says a cigarette tax increase is way overdue. Evans says smoking is not a healthy lifestyle choice, and the state needs to do more to discourage teens from taking up the habit, and raising the price of cigarettes is one way to do that.
