North Dakota Seeks to Increase Taxation, Control of Tobacco

North Dakota is expected to soon join the ranks of governments that are risking the ruination of industries by over taxing and over regulating them, says the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association about the state’s plans to control tobacco use.

Nearly $13 million has been allocated by North Dakota over the next two years to fund a nine-member advisory board that is expected to recommend and lobby for quadrupling the state’s cigarette tax to $2 per pack.  The board also plans to encourage the widespread banning of smoking and other tobacco use in public areas while helping young people to avoid use of tobacco products. 

“We are an association of cigar and premium tobacco shop owners and manufacturers and distributors of premium cigars, pipes and pipe tobacco and related items.  Our more than 2,000 members are small business owners who provide thousands of jobs and pay millions of dollars in federal, state and payroll taxes. They avidly comply with all local, state and federal laws, including those that restrict sales of tobacco products to underaged consumers,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR.

“Beyond that, citizens of North Dakota and elsewhere are slowly but surely having their rights chipped away by legislated smoking bans and the imposition of outrageous taxes that are primarily designed to control the decisions of its citizens and pay for largely ill-considered programs.  On the other hand, we fully support the rights of business owners to determine whether or not smoking would be allowed in their respective places of business,” he added.

The board is expected to recommend the expansion of legislated smoking bans to include bars and other adult locations.  McCalla says that’s bad business and bad government.

“The Federal Reserve Bank, using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, has proven that legislated smoking bans lead to the loss of jobs, particularly in the entertainment, leisure and restaurant sectors.  And increased taxes are not on the tobacco products; they are on the users of those products who are, for the most part, medium- and low-income adults who don’t need to be paying more taxes and having their jobs put at risk,” said McCalla.

“This is not the time for government to be taking actions that could lead to job losses and higher product costs.  Besides, personal decisions should be left to individuals.  We don’t need the government – federal, state or local - to be running our lives.”

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