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Maryland Lawmakers Consider Tobacco Tax Hike

Don Rush

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland lawmakers will be discussing a proposal to raise the state's tobacco tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.

A hearing has been scheduled in the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.

The measure would raise the tax from $2 to $3. The bill also increases taxes on other tobacco products.

The bill would require the governor to include at least $21 million in annual funding for the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program, starting in fiscal year 2018.

Maryland lawmakers last voted to raise the state's cigarette tax in 2007, from $1 a pack to $2 a pack.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.