Cigarette Tax Proponents Brace For Onslaught As ‘No’ Campaign Announces $17M Influx
Prop 56, which would increase the tax on cigarettes by two dollars a pack, is bringing in millions on both sides of the fight.
Capital Public Radio:
Big Tobacco Raises $17 Million To Oppose California Cigarette Tax Increase
Supporters of California’s cigarette tax on the November ballot say they are bracing for a big money fight with Big Tobacco. Tobacco companies recently raised $17 million to oppose Prop 56. That proposition would increase the tax on cigarettes by two dollars a pack. Proponents such as Jim Knox of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network say they’re preparing for an onslaught of opposition. “This is classic tobacco industry strategy and deception,” Knox said of the cash infusion. “They will spend tens of millions of dollars to confuse and deceive the voters about the deadly nature of their product, as they have been doing for decades.” (Nichols, 7/25)