Signatures Now Being Sought for Second Tobacco Tax Initiative

A second tobacco tax initiative could end up on next November’s ballot. The Missouri Alliance for Health and Justice has filed an initiative to amend the Constitution to increase the tax on tobacco by eighty cents a pack. Leslie Holt, with the Alliance, wants a good chunk of the revenues from this tax targeted for Medicaid insurance coverage and increased physician Medicaid reimbursement rates. The initial proposal, sponsored by the Committee for a Healthy Future, would be used to fund smoking prevention and cessation programs and to help pay the medical costs of those with tobacco-related illnesses. Both groups have until next Spring to collect approximately 150,000 signatures from throughout the state to get their respective initiatives on the November ballot.