Why Increase the Price of Tobacco?
Research shows that just a 10 percent increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes decreases smoking among adults by 4 percent, especially pregnant women, and among youth by at least 7 percent. Increasing Wisconsin’s excise tax by $1.25 per pack would significantly reduce the number of children who become addicted to tobacco, save over a billion dollars in health care costs, and provide hundreds of millions of dollars per year in additional state revenues.

Wisconsin’s current cigarette tax of 77 cents per pack is below the average state cigarette tax of $1 dollar per pack. Twenty-two states have cigarette tax rates of $1.00 or more and six states have cigarette tax rates of $2 or more. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Wisconsin, claiming more than 7,300 lives each year and costing the state $2 billion annually in health care bills, including $480 million in Medicaid payments alone. Government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $603 each year on every Wisconsin household.

Raising the Price in Wisconsin
In an effort to prevent Wisconsin kids from starting to smoke and to help motivate adults to quit smoking, Governor Jim Doyle launched a comprehensive statewide antismoking initiative that includes increasing the cost of cigarettes and expand smoking cessation programs to improve public health for people in Wisconsin.

Resources
Find the latest information on tobacco taxes and its impact on tobacco use.

In the News
Check out the latest news headlines on the tobacco tax.

Blog

Read our opinions and share yours on the official SmokeFree Wisconsin blog.

Legislation
Find out what bills have been introduced, who sponsors the bill and its current status.

Take Action
Feel the need to help reduce tobacco use by increasing the price of tobacco? Here you will find opportunities to take action.