National Trade Groups Join NATO in Joint Letter on SCHIP Bill

Five national trade organizations have joined with NATO and signed a letter which is being faxed today to 160 key U.S. Representatives that voted late last year to prevent an override of President Bush’s veto of the $35 billion dollar expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Last fall, Congress passed a bill twice to expand the SCHIP program to provide health insurance coverage to children in families that earn up to $83,000 annually. The $35 billion funding expansion would have been paid for by unprecedented and punitive increases on all tobacco products.

With the Democrats in Congress likely to vote on a third SCHIP expansion bill after Congress returns from its August recess, NATO used roll call votes from the U.S. House of Representatives to identify the 160 U.S. Representatives that continued to oppose the SCHIP expansion by not voting in favor of overriding the President’s second veto. The letter being sent to these 160 representatives is signed by the American Wholesale Marketers Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, NATO, the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America and the Southern Association of Wholesale Distributors.

The letter informs these representatives that the federal government will fall far short of collecting the estimated $35 billion in cigarette and tobacco taxes and warns of an inevitable black market for tobacco products if the bill is enacted into law. The organizations also inquire about what alternative revenue source Congress will turn to for SCHIP funding when cigarette and tobacco tax collections fall far short of projected amounts. The letter closes with a direct request that these U.S. Representatives continue to oppose the SCHIP bill to protect the very existence of retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and the jobs of their collective employees.

NATO Launches National Grassroots Effort to Oppose SCHIP

Since the first week in August, the NATO legislative staff has been contacting those NATO members that are represented by one of the 160 U.S. Representatives that voted to sustain President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP bill. These contacts are being made to assist NATO members set up personal meetings with their specific U.S. Representative while they are back home during the Congressional August recess to explain the devastating consequences of the SCHIP bill and the cigarette and tobacco tax increases contained in the legislation.

NATO to Send Commentary Letters to Newspapers to Oppose SCHIP

As the third prong of NATO’s nationwide effort to oppose a third SCHIP bill, NATO will be sending a commentary letter-to-the-editor to almost two hundred newspapers published in the various home state districts of the 160 U.S. Representatives that voted to uphold the President’s veto of the SCHIP bill. With Congress in recess, the goal is to have the U.S. Representatives read about the severe budget shortfall that the SCHIP program would encounter if the tobacco taxes are increased and to educate the public about the need for Congress to seek out alternative funding sources for the expansion of this program.

NATO’s Launches Nationwide Initiative to Stop Tax Increases

On July 2nd, NATO launched an unprecedented effort to urge state lawmakers and governors to tax non-tobacco products if they intend to seek additional revenue to fund programs. This effort involved NATO mailing a personalized letter to more than 7,100 state legislators and all 50 state governors warning them that an increasing number of states which have raised cigarette and tobacco taxes in the past eighteen months have either collected less tax revenue than before the latest tax increase or collected far less than the estimated amount of additional revenue.

NATO President Andy Kerstein noted that “This initiative represents NATO’s greatest effort to date in being proactive to educate state legislators about the negative fiscal ramifications of further increases to cigarette and tobacco tax rates.” As explained in NATO’s letter, a point of diminishing returns has now been reached. The letter provides tax collection information from New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont that clearly undermines the pervasive mindset that raising cigarette and OTP tax rates will guarantee an unending steam of revenue. A copy of the letter accompanies this E-News.

This initiative by NATO will expand with NATO News articles to be published in numerous magazines including Tobacco Outlet Business magazine, Tobacco Retailer magazine, Smokeshop magazine, NPN magazine and CSP Magazine. Following through on its past success in publishing letters-to-the-editor in newspapers, NATO will send commentary letters-to-the-editor to newspapers around the country with the goal of informing elected officials and the public about the need to focus on taxing other products.

U.S. House of Representatives Passes FDA Bill

On July 30th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 362 to 102 to pass H.R. 1108, the bill that would grant the FDA regulatory power over tobacco products. Those representatives voting in favor of the bill included 203 Democrats and 96 Republicans. The representatives that voted against the bill included 99 Republicans and 3 Democrats.

While the FDA bill has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate has not voted on its version of the FDA bill. Last year, a different version of the FDA bill was passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. This Senate version of the bill still needs action by the full U.S. Senate. At this time, it is uncertain whether the U.S. Senate will schedule a vote on the FDA legislation before the Senate adjourns in late September or early October.

R.J. Reynolds Expands NoCigTax Website Nationwide

Cigarettes are one of the most heavily taxed consumer products in the United States.  In the last 10 years, there have been 93 cigarette excise tax increases in 45 states and the District of Columbia.In the effort to defend against an increase in the federal excise tax (FET), R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company developed and launched www.NoCigTax.com in 2007.  During the year, there were more than 30,000 visits to the site, generating more than 120,000 contacts to elected officials.

Based upon this utilization of the website,www.NoCigTax.com has been redesigned to also include information on state cigarette excise tax issues. NoCigTax.com provides a platform where retailers and wholesalers can quickly and easily engage in the political process, making their voice heard on proposals to increase state and federal cigarette tax rates. Click on the link below to visit www.NoCigTax.com

Visit www.NoCigTax.com

State Tobacco Legislative Update

Andrew Kerstein (NATO President), Bob Sunblad (Smoke'm Phoenix), Bob Roberts (Smoke'm Phoenix), Mitchel Hirsh (Cigar King), Robert Hesla (11th Avenue Liquor and Smoke Shop) and Mary Szarmach (NATO Vice-President). Not Pictured: Joe Valls of Wilsonville Liquor.

Both Altadis, U.S.A. and Nat Sherman International were recognized for their commitment to NATO and their respective lobbying efforts on tobacco legislative issues. Each of these companies were well deserving of the 2008 NATO Pinnacle Awards.

Andrew Kerstein (NATO President), Joel Sherman (Nat Sherman International), Jim Colucci (Altadis, U.S.A.) and Mary Szarmach (NATO Vice-President).

NATO Legislative Monitor

NATO maintains a chart on each tobacco-related bill that the association is monitoring and acting upon in the states and at the federal level. Click here to see the complete NATO legislative monitor chart.

Cigarette and Tobacco Rate Tax Maps

The maps below show the current cigarette tax rates in all 50 states and the current tax rates on other tobacco products for each state.

• Excise Tax Rates Colored
• OTP Excise Map

NATO Manufacturers & Distributors Directory

Click here to view our new directory of manufacturers and distributors NATO members.

The NATO website now includes a new page filled with manufacturer and distributor company logos, contact information, product summaries and hotlinks to each member’s website. Retail members are encouraged to visit this new page to learn about NATO manufacturer and distributor members and the products they offer. This is a unique service to assist NATO retail members find manufacturer and distributor websites. For those manufacturers and distributors that have not yet sent in their logo, contact information and website address, please forward that information to NATO at info@natocentral.org.