American Cancer Society Wants Higher Tobacco Taxes In Wyoming

The Cancer Action Network wants to add an additional $1.50 to the sales tax of tobacco products, according to Gillette News-Record.

There is some good and some bad with raising the sales tax on tobacco in the Cowboy State. One good thing is the goal of cutting down on the number of teenagers using tobacco products. There have been two notable studies done, one in 1999 and in 2011 stating that upping the price of tobacco products lowers the number of people using it.

There are several negatives to raising the sales tax. One being, small towns that border the surrounding states will lose business. With the sales tax being much lower here residents from other states come over to stock up on tobacco products. While they are in that local town they usually purchase other items as well which in return is revenue for the town. If they raise the tax there could be no reason for those people to come resulting in business closing down and those small towns getting smaller.

Even if the sales tax goes through in Wyoming at $1.50 we will still be below the national average but close enough to the surrounding state's tax that it won't matter.

If the sales tax does not increase there is another issue on their hands here in Wyoming, underage e-cigs. That will be the Cancer Action Networks next plan.

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