California Cigarette Tax Fight Is More A Battle Of Equals Than David Vs. Goliath
In previous failed attempts, proponents weren't able to match the powerful tobacco industry, but this year is different.
Los Angeles Times:
The Tobacco Tax Campaign Has Reached $100 Million. But This Time Something's Different
Never before have tobacco companies spent so much trying to defeat a cigarette tax hike in California. The $71 million raised by opponents of this year’s Proposition 56, which would add a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes, to date tops the industry’s totals in 2006 and 2012, when R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris successfully knocked down previous tobacco tax hikes at the ballot. But unlike those previous failed campaigns, proponents of this tobacco tax hike have done a lot more to match the industry’s dollars. (Dillon, 11/1)