(ATLANTA, Ga.) — The Georgia House of Representatives is considering an increase on the state tobacco excise tax. Currently at 10%, the tax represents about 37¢ per pack of 20, or $3.70 per carton.
Rep. Dr. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, assembled a committee in the last legislative session to examine the costs of smoking. GPB reported this month that her intention was to give the legislature data from its own body for consideration.
“Decreasing people smoking, decreasing the chronic health costs of smoking, which affects every organ system in the body, and increasing an important source of revenue for the state,” Dr. Au told WSB investigative reporter Sandra Parrish. Smoking cigarettes causes damage to every major organ system in the human body, beyond just the lungs.
Her proposal has garnered support across the aisle, including Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Richmond Hill. He told Sandra that raising the tax from 37¢ to 57¢ per pack could raise between $90 and $100 million every year.
This money could then be used to support rural healthcare systems, and to offset the human and economical costs of smoking.
#TeamAu doing some multitasking!
— Dr. Michelle Au (@AuforGA) January 24, 2023
While I was meeting with med students, my Chief of Staff @pintoresting was filing our resolution to form a bicameral study comittee examining the healthcare costs of tobacco smoking in Georgia.
(Thanks to Laverne in the House Clerk’s office!) pic.twitter.com/wzolzNRVTm
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