Tweet JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri House member Chris Kelly (D-Columbia) wants voters to raise the state’s cigarette tax by 81 cents per pack. Currently, Missouri’s 17-cent cigarette tax is the lowest in the country; Kelly’s proposal would increase it to 98 cents per pack. Kelly outlined his plan to a House committee last Thursday, according to the report. Kelly proposed a future statewide vote in which state residents ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Smoke-free is becoming the norm in workplaces across Missouri. But in state government, you can still light up in one office building: the Capitol. The House and Senate allow smoking in representatives’ and senators’ office suites on all four floors of the Capitol, as well as in a members-only gallery at the rear of the third-floor House chamber. Now, that policy is coming under attack from health-conscious legislators in both p ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Maybe we should call Missouri the “Smoke Me” state. Whether it’s at home or at work or at the convenience store checkout counter, Missourians live in a state that is one of the most tobacco-friendly places in the nation. That’s according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that ranks states on their tobacco control efforts. At just 17 cents per pack, Missouri has the second-lowest state tobacco tax, afte ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Snuffing out smoking in public places has moved a step closer to reality in Missouri. That’s news worth cheering, even if lawmakers may not rush to approve a smoke-free law in 2010. The conversation has to start somewhere, and newly introduced House Bill 1766 gets a lot of things right. It would prohibit smoking in restaurants, bars and casinos. It would take precedence over weaker, existing smoke-free laws, including those in Kansas City ... Jump to full article >>