Supporters: Cigarette-tax hike offers good investment in early-childhood programs

A proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot in Missouri would boost funding for early-childhood health and education programs by raising cigarette taxes, supporters said during a news conference Thursday at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

Amendment 3 would establish a secure source of funding by raising the state’s lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax by 60 cents.

The tax hike would be phased in with a 15-cent-a-year increase in the cost of a pack of cigarettes annually for the next four years, said Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for the “Yes on 3” campaign.

The measure also would impose an added 67-cent-per-pack tax, which would be paid by cigarette wholesalers on certain brands.

When fully implemented, the added taxes would generate $263 million to $374 million annually, Cardetti said.

“If you don’t smoke, you don’t pay,” Cardetti said.

A simple majority is needed to enact the constitutional amendment.

Cardetti said surrounding states have much higher tobacco taxes.

The tax on a pack of cigarettes is $1.98 in Illinois, $1.15 in Arkansas, 62 cents in Tennessee and 60 cents in Kentucky. Smokers in Missouri would pay 77 cents per pack of cigarettes by 2020.

“For too long, politicians and special interests in Jefferson City have failed our kids,” Cardetti said. “We rank near the bottom in early-childhood education.”

According to Cardetti and other supporters, the lack of early-childhood education leads to numerous societal problems — everything from higher high-school dropout rates to increased prison populations.

The increased revenue would be dispersed as grants for programs to benefit children ages birth through 5.

Some 75 percent to 85 percent of the tax money would go for early-childhood education, 10 to 15 percent would be earmarked for health services for children, and the remaining 5 to 10 percent would be used for smoking-cessation programs, according to online information from the “Raise Your Hands for Kids” campaign.

A state board would be formed to allocate the money, Cardetti said.

Barb Meraz, site director for the Southeast Missouri State University child-development center in Sikeston, Missouri, and state Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, voiced support for the measure at the news conference.

The first several years of life are extremely important for child development, Meraz said.

She said added funding would help provide the “highly skilled, educated, nurturing adults” needed to teach young children.

Low wages currently make it hard to retain good early-childhood education teachers, Meraz said.

“We need help with funding,” she said.

According to Cardetti, only 3 percent of 4-year-olds in Missouri were enrolled in state-funded, pre-kindergarten programs in 2014.

Swan said Missouri lags behind other states in early-childhood education programs.

She said pre-kindergarten programs can make a big difference, leading to above-average test scores, less need for remedial education and ultimately more stable employment and less chemical dependency.

Early-childhood education programs are a good investment, amounting to a return of $3 to $16 for every dollar spent, Swan said.

Tobacco giant Reynolds American Inc., the parent company of Camel, Newport and other brands, has been a major supporter of the amendment.

Opponents, including the Missouri Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, argue “big tobacco” supports the measure because it would drive up the price of cigarettes from low-cost tobacco competitors.

Thursday’s news conference follows a court ruling earlier this week that voter signatures were collected properly to put the measure on the ballot.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

711 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.