Missouri voters will have a chance, on November 5th, to vote for or against a measure that would add 55-cents to the cost of a package of cigarettes. A Circuit Judge in Jefferson City has agreed with the group Missourians For A Healthy Missouri – the sponsor of the effort – that enough signatures had been collected to place the measure on the November 5th ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office had initially disallowed several of the signatures collected. But, the group’s Brad Ketcher says a recount of signatures altered the initial outcome and placed the measure on the ballot. The measure aims to improve health and health care throughout the state by investing the extra tobacco taxes into things like emergency room care, prescription drug access for senior citizens, and stop smoking programs.
