IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
KENTUCKY
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
POLICY TIP SHEET: TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION 101: KANSAS
January 16, 2020
Key Points:
Kansas’s vaping industry provided more than $229 million in economic activity in 2018 while generating 882 vaping-related jobs. Sales of disposables and prefilled cartridges in Kansas exceeded $693,000 in 2016.
As of November 22, 2019, KDHE has reported 23 probable and confirmed cases of vaping-related lung illnesses, including two deaths. KDHE notes the ages of patients and reports a variety of substances have been vaped, but does not include official case counts. KDHE earns a C ranking for its reporting on vaping-related lung illnesses.
In 2017, only 2.1 percent of Kansas high school students reported daily use of vapor products. More data is needed.
Only 3 percent of FDA retail compliance checks resulted in sales of e-cigarettes to minors from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
Kansas spends very little on tobacco prevention. In 2019, Kansas dedicated only $847,041 on tobacco control, or less than 1 percent of what the state received in tobacco settlement payments and taxes.
POLICY TIP SHEET: TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION 101: KENTUCKY
January 16, 2020
Key Points:
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Kentucky’s vaping industry provided more than $942 million in economic activity in 2018 while generating 2,546 vaping-related jobs. Sales of disposables and prefilled cartridges in Kentucky exceeded $9 million in 2016.
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As of December 20, 2019, KCHFS has reported six cases of vaping-related lung illness. KCHFS does not provide information on age, gender, or substances vaped. KCHFS earns an F-ranking for its reporting on vaping-related lung illnesses.
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During 2016-2017, only 8.7 percent of Kentucky high school students reported using e-cigarettes daily, while 73.9 percent reported not vaping. More data is needed.
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Only 1 percent of FDA retail compliance checks resulted in sales of e-cigarettes to minors from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
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Kentucky spends very little on tobacco prevention. In 2019, Kentucky dedicated only $3.8 million on tobacco control, or 1 percent of what the state received in tobacco settlement payments and taxes.
POLICY TIP SHEET: TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION 101: KENTUCKY
January 16, 2020
Key Points:
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Kentucky’s vaping industry provided more than $942 million in economic activity in 2018 while generating 2,546 vaping-related jobs. Sales of disposables and prefilled cartridges in Kentucky exceeded $9 million in 2016.
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As of December 20, 2019, KCHFS has reported six cases of vaping-related lung illness. KCHFS does not provide information on age, gender, or substances vaped. KCHFS earns an F-ranking for its reporting on vaping-related lung illnesses.
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During 2016-2017, only 8.7 percent of Kentucky high school students reported using e-cigarettes daily, while 73.9 percent reported not vaping. More data is needed.
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Only 1 percent of FDA retail compliance checks resulted in sales of e-cigarettes to minors from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
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Kentucky spends very little on tobacco prevention. In 2019, Kentucky dedicated only $3.8 million on tobacco control, or 1 percent of what the state received in tobacco settlement payments and taxes.
CIGARETTE TAX HIKE WON’T FIX KENTUCKY’S BUDGET PROBLEMS
March 23, 2018
Key Points:
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Lawmakers recently proposed increasing the state’s cigarette tax. The proposal would increase the state’s cigarette excise tax by $.50 per pack, bringing the total tax to $1.10 per pack.
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Such disparities drive consumers to purchase cigarettes in neighboring states or on black markets. In 2015, the Tax Foundation ranked Kentucky ranked 37th among the states in cigarette smuggling.
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Cigarette taxes are highly regressive and disproportionately impact lower-income persons. From “2010 to 2011, smokers earning less than $30,000 per year spent 14.2 percent of their household income on cigarettes, compared to 4.3 percent for smokers earning between $30,000 and $59,999 and 2 percent for smokers earning more than $60,000" according to the Cato Institute.
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It is important to note that the revenue raised by the increase tax is not an effort to address public health costs linked with smoking. It is an effort to increase revenue as Kentucky confronts a growing pension crisis.
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Kentucky already uses very little funds for education and tobacco-control programs.
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In 2017, the state projected to collect over $100 million in funds from the state’s Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The MSA is the agreement reached in the 1990s after states began suing tobacco manufacturers to recover Medicaid and other costs the states allegedly incurred in treating sick and dying smokers. Kentucky uses very little of these funds for education and tobacco-control programs as only $2.4 million in state funds was allocated to tobacco prevention programs in the Commonwealth, in 2017.