Cost of Smoking Could Be on the Rise with Prop B

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri smokers currently pay the lowest cigarette tax rate in the nation – but that could change in November if voters approve Proposition B.

Currently, smokers pay 17 cents tax on a pack of cigarettes – if Prop B passes, that will rise 73 cents to 90 cents in total. The majority (80 percent) of the funds raised by the tax increase would go to pay for education in the state.

Supporters say that the tax could raise up to $283 million a year in revenue. Opponents of the proposal say that smokers have already been punished enough.

Missouri has the 11th highest smoking rate in the nation.