US: Cigarette Tax Hike Proposal Supports Children''s Services

Source from:  News PressNow 06/06/2016

A proposal by the grassroots Missouri organization Raise Your Hand for Kids seeks to support early childhood health and education through an increase in tobacco taxes.

"We know that when kids get a better start, they are going to do better in school and not only just have better academic preparations but also be more socially ready for learning," said Linda Rallo, executive director of Raise Your Hand for Kids.

Raise Your Hand for Kids filed an "Early Childhood Health and Education Amendment" proposal with the secretary of state's office last fall and has collected about 320,000 signatures between January and May. A total of 167,000 signatures are required to qualify for the general election in November.

The petition seeks to increase the state's present rate of 17 cents on a pack of cigarettes by 60 cents, for a total of 77 cents per pack. Phased in over four years, the tax increase could generate an estimated $300 million annually for childhood education and health and smoking cessation, Rallo said. Missouri currently has the lowest tobacco tax in the nation.

According to the proposal, 75 percent to 85 percent of the revenue would be distributed statewide as grants for early childhood education needs, including professional development, home visitation programs and prekindergarten programs for children from birth to 5 years old. Funds would be distributed based on residency population of those from birth to age 5.

"It's really up to the local communities," Rallo said. "The goal is to increase access and quality."

Ten percent to 15 percent of the revenue would be used for healthcare needs including vision, dental and hearing screenings, obesity prevention and infant mortality prevention. The final 5 percent to 10 percent would be used for smoking cessation programs for pregnant women and youth.

The proposal is designed to help local organizations address issues in their communities and was developed after speaking to residents across Missouri to identify unique needs, Rallo said.

"We decided to take a grassroots-first approach where we went around the state and got to know communities and found out what their unmet needs were," she said. "... We learned that priorities were really different across the state."

Missouri currently ranks 38th in the nation for public prekindergarten funding. About 3 percent of 4-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded prekindergarten programs, according to the National Institute of Early Education Research. Enditem