WATCH ABOVE: The Montreal Economic Institute is concerned about how taxes on tobacco are affecting Quebec’s poorest people. As Rachel Lau reports, it’s asking the government not to raise taxes on cigarettes.
MONTREAL – It’s an unintended consequence of raising taxes on things like alcohol and cigarettes – lower income families who may soon find their wallets stretched even further.
“It’s a big nonsense to me to hear that they’re trying to raise tobacco percentages,” said Benoit Langevin, Director General of AJOI.
“Why wouldn’t they invest it in education instead of trying to get money out of those people? It’s just nonsense.”
At the end of 2013, the Quebec government announced a $2.5 billion deficit.
“The temptation will be great to increase taxes,” said Jean-Francois Minardi, a Public Policy Analyst with the Montreal Economic Institute.
“We wanted the government to think twice before doing that.”
A new study by the Montreal Economic Institute is asking the government to not cover their deficit through higher taxation of “harmful” products.
“We can double taxes on alcohol or tobacco but at a threshold people will not change their habits,” he said. “They will continue smoking.”
Apparently Quebecers have already reached that threshold. Province-wide, the number of smokers has hovered around 24 per cent since 2003. That’s despite the fact the price of cigarettes has doubled.
Robert Cunningham, from the Cancer Society of Canada, disagrees.
“Higher tobacco taxes aren’t going to result in everyone quitting,” he said.
“But many will, others will cut back and the evidence is that higher tobacco taxes reduce smoking and save lives. They’re fantastic for public health, they increase government revenue.”
Yet, Minardi argues a tax increase will only hurt the poor – not the middle or upper class.
“They won’t change their habits,” he said. “They will have to pay prices that are going up and up and up and it’s a bigger percentage of their budget than for more wealthy people.”
There is still no confirmation that taxes on alcohol and tobacco will actually go up, but Langevin says he hopes the government will focus more attention on education than taxation.
“The programs are supposed to target those most at risk people, but they don’t in the end,” he said.
“There should be more adaptation to the message to the people that are in a lower income family.”
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