Tobacco Industry Outspending Cigarette-Tax Initiative Supporters By 2-to-1
“Imagine two messages side by side -- one blaring from a gigantic movie screen and on the other side from a small cell phone. For voters, that amplification is going to make a difference," says Daniel G. Newman, president of MapLight.
Bloomberg:
Big Tobacco Pours Millions Into California Cigarette Tax Fight
Reynolds American Inc., Altria Group Inc. and other tobacco companies are steering millions of dollars to defeating a $2 cigarette-tax increase in California, a high-stakes effort and the third such fight in a decade in the most populous U.S. state. The tobacco industry’s outlay of $35.6 million so far means that it has outspent supporters 2-to-1 in donations to defeat the measure, which starting in April would boost the levy to $2.87 a pack. The initiative would generate from $1 billion to $1.4 billion in revenue in fiscal 2018 for cancer treatment and smoking prevention. (Vekshin, 9/9)