OLYMPIA, WA – Washington lawmakers are considering raising the state’s cigarette tax for the first time since 2010, to $5 per pack.
Currently, the total state tax on a pack of 20 cigarettes is just over $3. Only New York and Maryland levy over $5 per pack.
Backers see the proposal as potentially accomplishing two goals: Pushing people to stop smoking and raising some much-needed revenue for the state. But opponents, including retail and business groups, believe the proposal is regressive and would push consumers to other states or unregulated black markets.
The idea won’t play much of a role in lawmakers’ current budget negotiations, as the tax increase wouldn’t hit until 2028, in the next two-year budget cycle. Starting in 2032, the tax would be adjusted up for inflation every four years.
If approved, it would mean two years in a row of the Legislature approving added nicotine taxes. Starting in January, the state extended Washington’s existing 95% tax on the sale of miscellaneous tobacco goods to capture emerging products, like Zyn pouches. That move was part of the suite of tax increases state Democrats approved last year.
Senate Bill 6129 would replace that tax and the separate tax on vapor products with an identical 95% levy on all nicotine products, except cigarettes. This would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, told House lawmakers Wednesday that she “would like to tax all nicotine products equitably.”
“And I believe that the bill does that to the best of our ability,” she told the House Finance Committee. “I hope that we will discourage youth from initiating using nicotine products. As we know, that is an increasing public health issue. Nicotine is not good for young brains and I hope that we can all agree that it’s a good goal for us to try to discourage youth from getting addicted.”
The Senate passed the tax hike on a 26-22 vote Saturday. Democratic Sens. Adrian Cortes of Battle Ground, Bob Hasegawa of Tukwila, Claudia Kauffman of Kent, Deb Krishnadasan of Gig Harbor, and Liz Lovelett of Anacortes joined Republicans in opposition. One Republican senator, Paul Harris of Vancouver, supported the legislation with Democrats.
The House Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on Robinson’s bill Saturday, getting it closer to action from the full chamber as the legislative session nears its March 12 end date. But it could face a dicey path to final passage in the House.
Finance Committee Chair April Berg, D-Mill Creek, said she isn’t sure how her fellow Democrats in the House feel about the proposal.
“We’ll see how it comes out of committee,” she said.
Berg’s committee approved similar legislation last month, but it hasn’t advanced further.
Not all the proceeds from the new tax structure would go to the state’s general fund that covers government operations. Revenue from taxing vapor products like e-cigarettes would first go to cancer research and foundational public health before going into the state’s coffers. And the first $10 million each fiscal year from the increased cigarette tax would go toward the state’s youth smoking prevention efforts.
Advocates say this could help fund the state Quitline for people trying to quit smoking, and that raising the tax would reduce long-term health care costs.
But businesses worry the tax will hurt their bottom line. Carolyn Logue, of the Washington Food Industry Association, said the “substantial increases in this bill directly threaten many of our stores.”
“These products can drive foot traffic into our stores where customers also purchase food, fuel and other essentials,” she said. “Loss of this traffic will not only hurt the store sales overall, it will actually hurt the taxes that come from that store in other areas beyond the tobacco taxes.”
In total, the legislation is expected to bring in over $100 million in the 2027-29 biennium, according to the latest fiscal analysis. Senate Democratic budget writers count on $20 million for the general fund in that budget cycle from it in their spending plan released last month.
Some legislators have also pondered banning flavored tobacco products, like vapes, but the Legislature stubbed out that idea. The failed proposal would have also prohibited the sale of nicotine pouches, like Zyn, to people under age 21.
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