By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Ahwatukee Foothills News
85 percent of Arizonans do not smoke and would not be affected financially.
With tobacco use on the rise, a state lawmaker and the American Cancer Society want to ask voters to sharply increase the taxes paid by smokers on the cigarettes and similar products they buy.
And the money raised would help put Arizonans through college.
Current law puts a $2-a-pack tax on cigarettes. SCR 1026 would add another $1.50 on top of that.
The proposal by Sen. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, if approved by voters, also would hike similar existing taxes on cigars, chewing tobacco and similar products. And it would, for the first time ever, impose a levy on vaping products, both the device and the refills, equal to 73 percent of the wholesale price.
