Starting October, Alaska will have the nation's highest tobacco tax, thanks to a measure passed over the weekend by the state legislature.
By a slight margin, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a bill that hikes state taxes by 71 cents per pack on cigarettes and a like amount on other tobacco products. That will add to the state's current tax of 29 cents a pack.The House action followed earlier approval by the state Senate.
Two Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles had each sponsored bills seeking to raise the tax by $1. The 71-cent compromise, struck to gain additional votes, was acceptable but less desirable than the original proposal, said Knowles, a longtime anti-smoking activist.
Alaska's debate has been part of a national campaign to raise tobacco taxes and discourage cash-strapped youths from starting the tobacco habit.
"Alaska is in the lead, and with this I can assure you the whole world is watching," Knowles said of the legislature's action.
Proponents argue that because nearly all smokers and tobacco chewers begin their addiction by the time they are 19, a stiff tax will eventually diminish overall smoking. It will also help raise money to offset tobacco-related public health costs, they say.
Alaska has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation and had the highest rate of youth smokeless tobacco use. Tobacco use is heaviest among Alaska Natives in the state's far-flung rural villages; at least four out of 10 Alaska Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts smoke, according to state figures.