On Election Day this coming November 8th, North Dakota retailers, their employees and adult customers are urged to go to the polls and vote “No” on Amendment 72. This ballot question would raise the North Dakota state cigarette tax by $1.76 per pack from the current $.44 per pack to $2.20 per pack and raise the tax on other tobacco products from 28% to 56% of the wholesale price.

There are a number of reasons to vote “No” on Measure 4 including the following:

1. Measure 4 is a 400% tobacco tax increase that gives elected officials unrestricted access to the new tax revenue and benefits those groups and organizations supporting the tax increases. Very little of the new tax money would be dedicated to anti-smoking programs. Rather, millions of dollars would be set aside with little detail over how those millions will be spent.
2. Measure 4 would raise up to $70 million per year from the new tobacco taxes, and only 5% would be actually dedicated toward health care detection, prevention, treatment and control. The other 95% of the new tobacco tax revenue would fund other government programs.
3. Measure 4 locks in the new spending of the tobacco tax revenue for seven years. This means it would be extremely difficult for the North Dakota legislature to change the appropriation of the tobacco tax revenue, except by a two-thirds vote of the legislature, even if there is waste and fraud.
4. North Dakota already ranks #1 in the country for spending on tobacco prevention, and the state’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Committee has a $55.3 million surplus. This tax increase is not needed.

For more information on Measure 4, visit www.VoteNoOn4ND.com.