B.C. smokers got a tongue lashing from the province’s finance minister Tuesday in addition to a 32-cent increase on a pack of smokes in Budget 2014.
“For smokers who continue to utilize a product that science, medical officials and common sense tell us will adversely affect their health — and add to health-care costs — I have some bad news,” said Finance Minister Mike de Jong. “The price of cigarettes is going up.”
The tax increase, which takes effect April 1, will add 32 cents to the cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes and raise the amount of provincial tobacco tax to $47.80 on a carton of 200 from $44.60. The average cost of a carton ranges from $85 to $105.
The province’s announcement follows a tax increase announced in last week’s federal budget that raised the cost of a carton of 200 cigarettes by $4.
The B.C. and Yukon branch of the Canadian Cancer Society applauded the move, saying youth are especially price-sensitive.
“We know about half of all cancers can be prevented and meaningful steps, like increasing tobacco taxes, can have a tremendous impact in saving lives,” said Kathryn Seely of the B.C. branch.
“The costs of smoking upon individuals and families and upon the B.C. Health Ministry and health-care system are incredible,” de Jong said.
The increase will bring in an estimated $50 million, an estimated 50 to 70 per cent of which will go to cancer research and prevention, he said.
“We are going to take a significant portion of that revenue and very deliberately enter into a partnership with the Canadian Cancer Society and other research agencies to reinforce B.C.’s position as a world leader in cancer research and cancer prevention, including smoking cessation,” de Jong said.
How much of the money will go to research as opposed to prevention and what organizations and programs will benefit will be determined in coming months.
The government will consult a broad range of stakeholders, de Jong said, but it will be looking for value for money and maintaining its lead in areas of prevention and treatment, including “the lowest smoking rate in Canada, at 14.5 per cent.”
There were 23,700 new cancer cases diagnosed in B.C. in 2013. The Canadian Cancer Society predicts a 70 per cent increase in cancers in the next 20 years unless something is done differently, Seely said.
