DES MOINES, Iowa -- Governor Tom Vilsack renewed his call for a tobacco tax increase Monday to try to keep Iowans from becoming hooked on cigarettes, reported the Mason City Globe Gazette. His appeal came after the apparent suicide this weekend of his former chief of staff, Dr. Stephen Gleason, 59, who had battled an addiction to pain killers.
Vilsack has for the past two years called for an 80-cents-per-pack cigarette tax increase, said the report, but his plan has been blocked in the Iowa Legislature, which is set to adjourn in April.
The governor said the only compelling reason to raise the tobacco tax is that it would keep people from smoking and would encourage some current smokers to stop.
Vilsack said he is willing to look at using revenues from a tobacco tax increase to offset new tax cuts or other uses, the report said.
But key Republican lawmakers were not persuaded, it added. State Representative Jamie Van Fossen (R) accused Vilsack of trying to politicize Gleason's death. Van Fossen is chairman of the state House Ways & Means Committee and has opposed raising the tobacco tax.
I think it was unfortunate the governor did mention it in terms of politics. And trying to honor Dr. Gleason's death by asking for a cigarette tax increase to me did not make a lot of sense, Van Fossen told the newspaper.
Iowa House Speaker Christopher Rants (R), the legislature's chief opponent of a cigarette tax, suggested if Iowa is serious about the smoking problem they should crack down on minors caught smoking. He said adults would do something if they caught teenagers with beer, but they often do nothing when teens light up cigarettes. He also suggested raising the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes from 18 to 21, the report said.
He said he is not convinced that raising the cigarette tax would truly reduce underage smoking. I think it's incumbent upon lawmakers to look at all aspects of it. You cannot discuss this issue without talking about the financial ramifications that go along with it, Rants said.
Meanwhile, Iowa AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) took out a quarter-page ad in the Sioux City Journal asking Iowans to call Rants, added a report by KTIV-TV.
AARP state director Bruce Koeppl said its proposed $1-per-pack hike should not go up in smoke. It improves the overall health, and helps pay for people who do develop illnesses because of smoking. And, also it will help us expand choices for folks that are in need of long-term care.
According to the report, Rants claims any hike in the tobacco tax will hurt border towns, like Sioux City. He said if Iowa raises its tax on cigarettes, smokers will simply cross state borders to buy cheaper ones. We are not going to be looking at asking Iowans to pay more, Rants said. Iowans are looking to spend those dollars somewhere else, and we ought to respect that.
Critics have accused Rants of a conflict of interest because he has raised campaign finance dollars from the tobacco industry, the report said. Rants dismissed the accusations.
AARP targeted 14 lawmakers with the ads including seven democrats and seven republicans.
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