$1 Per Pack Cigarette Tax in California? Support Is Burning Out

By Dennis Romero Fri., May 25 2012 at 9:09 AM

Fugue

Californians are leaning toward approving a $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes. That's a no-brainer, since most of us don't smoke, and laws about lighting up in public have been getting more and more draconian.

But a funny thing happened on the way to November.

Support for this new tax, proposed under Prop. 29, is starting to burn out.

And we think we know why:

Commercials being run recently by Big Tobacco backers say there's no guarantee that the tax money will be spent in-state, and that Big Government bureaucracy would have to be expanded in order to handle the influx of money.

Seems to be changing minds (which shows you why ad dollars are all-powerful in politics).

The latest Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll, released last night, says support for the tax is down 14 points since March.

Still, 53 percent of likely voters would back it, according to the data. Forty-two percent say no and 5 percent are undecided.

At one point Prop. 29 enjoyed support among 67 percent of voters -- a sure thing. Now it's on the fence.

Strangely, when confronted with the more abstract concept of increasing taxes on cigarettes, California voters said yes at a rate of 63 percent to 33 percent no.

PPIC CEO Mark Baldassare:

The large drop in support for Proposition 29 speaks loudly about how a well-funded opposition is able to raise voters' doubts and distrust in state government, even when a tax increase is viewed favorably.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

cigarette tax, cigarettes, election 2012, November, poll, PPIC, Prop. 29, survey, taxes

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Richard

Yes on any tax hike on cigarettes, junk food, or anything that these criminal politician's can get there hands on no way this whole state is in a complete mess and now were going to research a cure for Cancer!!! Really? there will never find a cure for Cancer they don't want too!! to much money involved in reseaching and if they found a cure a lot of displaced working people this is a SCAM!!!! MAKE TOBACCO ILLEGAL YOU DOUBLE STANDARD MORON'S!!!!! DO GOODER'S YEAH RIGHT!!!

Guest

All the talk of taxing Cigarette's, how and when and where you can smoke.. When is the last time we added a tax to alchohol. Yes both cause cancer and other ailments. But last time I checked, you can't get a due while smoking. You do not hear about domestic violence acountable to Cigarettes. I know more people that drink then smoke, so if looking to raise money for the state tax both. I smoke and drink, but to tax what can be seen as a lesser of two evils in many ways is stupid with out taxing the other.

Yoo Focker

Talk about how dumb Californians are if they pass Prop 29. All they see is the headline, but are too lazy to read more about the proposition. Some of the comments on here are made by people with a 6th grade education. They believe everything and anything govt tells them.

Diggit

Still on the defense, but those ignorant smokers who toss their cig butts out the window have me leaning Yes on this. Anything to punish those pigs.

Rene34

The question that the media should be asking is WHY SHOULD BANKRUPT CALIFORNIA TAKE ON CANCER RESEARCH???We spent money on stem cell research and what did we get for it? What about MS, Autism and all the other terrible diseases? Follow the money - someone will get rich off this boondoggle.