In California the tax increase was defeated. In Florida, the amendment to the Constitution was approved :)
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San Francisco
Proposition 86, which would boost the state's cigarette tax by $2.60 a pack to fund public health services, appeared headed for defeat Tuesday night.
The measure was ahead in the Bay Area but lagging substantially elsewhere in the state, including Los Angeles County, as opponents declared victory and supporters stopped just short of conceding.
Prop. 86 would double the money California realizes from tobacco sales by dramatically increasing the current tax of 87 cents a pack. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes would go from $4 to $7.
Opponents, led by the tobacco industry, raised more than $58 million throughout the campaign and spent $10 million in the first three weeks of October alone. In broadcast and cable TV ads, they characterized the measure as a tax designed to benefit the hospital industry and as overly optimistic in its revenue projections.
"What I see is very encouraging," said Carla Hass, a spokeswoman for the No on 86 campaign. "It looks like our messages have gotten through to a majority of voters that Prop. 86 is nothing more than a money grab by special interests -- meaning hospital corporations -- to fund their bottom line."
The Yes on 86 campaign, a coalition of organizations promoting disease research, tobacco control, emergency care and children's health services, collected $13 million throughout the campaign and spent $1.7 million in the first three weeks of October.
Tobacco tax supporter Ted Lempert, president of Oakland-based Children Now, said his side was heavily outspent.
"We thought the issues of tobacco would be able to cut against that, but obviously the advertising had a huge impact," Lempert said. "We faced a full onslaught from the tobacco industry."
The supporters -- the California Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society and the California Emergency Nurses Association, among other health care providers and advocates -- gathered a million signatures to qualify the Tobacco Tax of 2006 as a statewide initiative. They described it as the "best way to combat the detrimental effects smoking is having on our health care system."
As it is now, 50 cents of each pack sold supports early childhood development programs, and 25 cents funds tobacco education and smoking prevention efforts, research programs and other health care and prevention services.
Prop. 86 would finance emergency care, increased access to health insurance for children, and public education about smoking. The state's legislative analyst estimated the tax would raise $2.1 billion next year and slightly declining amounts in later years, as California smokers buy fewer cigarettes.
Opponents predicted that revenue would drop off at a faster rate.
The legislative analyst also said the state's long-term costs for the expanded programs could be significant if the costs exceeded the income from the cigarette tax.
But the measure would probably reduce health care costs over the long term because people would smoke less, the analysis found.
Supporters said smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease, and that 50,000 California youths become new regular smokers yearly. The measure would prevent 700,000 children from becoming adult smokers and nearly 180,000 of them from dying of the effects of smoking, they said.
Opponents, who said they had 10,000 California doctors on their side, called the measure an unfair tax increase. They said the largest share of new revenue would go to hospitals and not toward helping smokers stop or keeping children from starting to smoke.
They also said the measure would promote illegal tobacco sales and add to the state's deficit as the cost of the new programs exceeded available funds.
In Florida, voters approve constitutionnal amendment to protect tobacco control funding.
ORLANDO, Fla. - A constitutional amendment requiring Florida to spend more of its tobacco settlement money on anti-smoking programs passed by a wide margin Tuesday.
With 99 percent of the expected vote counted, 60 percent supported Amendment 4, while 39 percent opposed it.
Backers of the amendment, like the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association, were angered the state has tapered its once-aggressive anti-smoking campaign. The amendment requires legislators to spend at least 15 percent - about $58 million - of the $470 million Florida receives annually from cigarette companies as part of a legal settlement.
"The problem with smokers is once they start it's very, very tough to quit," said Steve Burgess, chairman of public policy for the Florida division of the American Cancer Society. "The whole purpose of the amendment is to educate people to not start."
Some politicians opposed the measure, quietly, by saying it was an unnecessary restriction on lawmaker decisions.
But the incoming Senate president said the Legislature doesn't have a choice now.
"The voters have spoken, so it's going to get funded," said Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie.
After the settlement, Florida spent $70 million in 1998 to produce edgy TV commercials and develop other programs aimed at persuading teens not to smoke. But that was cut to $44 million the next year, and the amount has declined even further since. This year, the Legislature allocated about $6 million after setting aside only $1 million in each of the previous three years.
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