A lot has changed since 2005, but there’s at least one thing that’s stayed the same: Maine’s cigarette excise tax. As a junior in high school, that 2005 increase happened years before my classmates and I were born. With the current tax so low, it’s no wonder why so many kids are addicted to nicotine.
I heard that Gov. Mills wants to increase the cigarette excise tax from $2 to $3 per pack of cigarettes, with an increase on other tobacco products by the same percentage. While that might sound like small change to most adults, $3 per pack would be enough to keep many kids I know from trying cigarettes and other tobacco products in the first place. In fact, it’s estimated that this $1 per pack increase will prevent 700 Maine kids from becoming smokers as adults.
Maine kids are relying on lawmakers to look out for our health and make bold moves to protect our futures. I hope Maine lawmakers won’t wait another 20 years, and for thousands more Maine kids to get addicted to nicotine, before they finally take action. Stand up for Maine kids and increase the tobacco tax.
Matteo Hardy
student, Cony High School
Augusta
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