Washington State Considers Tobacco Tax Hike to Address Budget Shortfall
Washington state lawmakers are exploring the possibility of increasing taxes on cigarettes, cigars, and vapor products as part of their efforts to address a projected $6 billion budget gap. The House Finance Committee discussed legislation on Thursday that would raise taxes on various tobacco products, generating an estimated $23.1 million for the general fund in the next two-year budget.
Rep. Kristine Reeves, D-Federal Way, the bill’s sponsor, argued that those most likely to use these products should bear the cost of their impacts on health care and society. Reeves shared a personal story about her mother, who started smoking menthol cigarettes at age 9 and eventually died of lung cancer at 60. Reeves herself has struggled with asthma due to exposure to secondhand smoke.
The legislation proposes the following tax increases:
- Cigarettes: One-and-a-half cents per cigarette, raising the tax on a pack of 20 cigarettes by 30 cents to $3.33
- Cigars: Seven cents increase, up to a maximum of 72 cents per cigar
- Little cigars: One-and-a-half cents increase, totaling nearly 17 cents per little cigar
- Smokeless tobacco (moist snuff): 25 cents increase on consumer-sized cans or packages weighing 1.2 oz or less, and 21 cents increase on larger size cans
- Vapor products: One cent increase to 10 cents per milliliter for containers of 5 milliliters or more, and a three-cent increase to 30 cents per milliliter for all other vapor products
If enacted, the proposed tax increases would take effect on January 1, 2026. As lawmakers continue to explore various revenue-raising options to address the looming budget shortfall, the fate of this tobacco tax hike proposal remains to be seen.
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