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VIDEO: Sen Tom discusses charter schools, education reform 2/8/2012
48th District town hall meeting set for Feb. 18 2/7/2012
Sen. Rodney Tom will join Rep. Ross Hunter and Rep. Deb Eddy for a town hall meeting Saturday, Feb. 18, to discuss progress made thus far in the 2012 legislative session.
Sen Tom’s 2-3-12 E-Newsletter 2/3/2012
VIDEO: Sen. Tom addresses rally for higher education 2/2/2012
VIDEO: Sen. Tom on improving education for all WA students 1/31/2012
Sen. Tom’s 1-27-12 E-Newsletter 1/27/2012
Kicking the habit - $1 at a time 1/26/2012
Wednesday the Senate Ways and Means Committee heard a proposal of mine to increase the cigarette tax by $1. As this bill continues to gain attention, I thought I would take a moment to offer a few thoughts as to why I’m bringing this legislation forward now.
I don’t look at this as a "revenue" or a "tax bill." I see it as a public health measure and an effort to reduce the public’s subsidy on smoking. It's hard to believe that at a time when we're cutting K-12 or higher education to the bone, that smoking is effectively being subsidized. The direct medical cost of one pack of cigarettes is $8.47. This does not include productivity costs, which drive the total societal cost of one pack of cigarettes to around $16. In 2004, the last year that data was available, smoking accounted for an estimated $1.95 billion in health care expenses in Washington. Consider these statistics in illustrating the health risk created by smoking regularly:
VIDEO: Sen. Tom on public health, cigarette tax 1/23/2012
Sen. Tom proposes $1 increase to cigarette tax 1/16/2012
Olympia - State Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Bellevue, introduced legislation Friday to reduce smoking rates by raising the state cigarette tax by $1.
Tom described the bill as a critical public health measure.
Sen. Tom’s 1-16-12 E-Newsletter 1/16/2012
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Attend my upcoming town hall meeting!
Saturday, Feb. 18, 10 AM to noon
Redmond City Hall Council Chamber at 15670 Northeast 85th Street
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