L.A. Times Editorial Calls SB 591 ‘Sane Approach’ To Taxing Tobacco Products

A Los Angeles Times editorial argues that money raised by taxing tobacco products should be spent appropriately, noting that SB 591, by Assembly member Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), would spend the new revenue "in ways that largely benefit the people who pay the tax." The editorial concludes, "California taxpayers shell out about $3 billion a year for treatment of smoking-related illness," adding, "SB 591 represents a sane approach to reducing the ravages of smoking and paying for some of the injury it incurs."

• "Editorial: SB 591 Could Be a Smart Way To Help Pay for Damage Done by Tobacco" (Los Angeles Times, 3/18).