Why higher nicotine taxes may not improve public health in Washington

By: Steve Kirby

Outlets: Washington State Standard

Published: February 23, 2026

Words: 715

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 3 days ago

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I’ve spent my career supporting public health measures and “just say no” campaigns. I’ve voted in favor of smoking cessation programs, funded prevention initiatives, and supported taxes on smoking products when they were clearly tied to improved health outcomes.

When smoking taxes are calibrated carefully, they discourage harmful behavior. But when they aren’t, they often amount to an across-the-board net subtraction to the public welfare instead of a net benefit.

That is …

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