The Maine Legislature is considering a tax increase on tobacco products and, as a public health professional with over a decade of experience working with the youth in our communities, I am in full support of this proposal.

Maine’s overall cancer rate is the highest in New England and Maine’s tobacco tax is among the lowest in the region. Raising prices on cigarettes has proven to be one of the most effective tobacco control interventions.

According to the 2023 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, nearly 1 in 5 Maine high school students currently use a tobacco product. Tobacco tax increases help make cigarettes too expensive for price-sensitive kids to buy and significantly reduce youth initiation.

Tobacco tax increases also help encourage existing smokers to quit. An additional benefit of an increased tobacco tax is an increase in revenue. Along with raising the tobacco tax we should also guarantee that a portion of the proceeds are allocated to help current tobacco users quit.

Tobacco companies are targeting our youth hoping to establish a new generation of lifelong tobacco users. We can protect our Maine youth by making tobacco products less accessible, and increasing the tobacco tax has been proven to do just that.

I have shared with my legislators that I am in support of an increased tobacco tax, and I encourage others to reach out to them as well.

Ellen Thorne
Rumford