To: Gavin Newsom, Governor-elect of California
California: Increase your cigarette tax now!
California ranks 10th among the 50 states + DC with a $2.87 cigarette tax. I believe that the CA state legislature, which now has a super-majority in both chambers, should pass a bill making the CA cigarette tax, at minimum, $4.00. This would make it 5th in the nation. Also, someone in California could attempt to get enough signatures to put a higher cigarette tax on the ballot. A state as great as California should take the initiative and raise their cigarette tax!
Why is this important?
A higher cigarette tax would not only convince more people to stay off cigarettes, but it would also give more money to the state government. California, being one of the largest and economically successful states in the nation, could convince smaller states to raise their cigarette tax.