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Supporters right to give it another try.
About 50 state lawmakers are making a last-ditch effort to raise the cigarette tax this session. They're not likely to be successful, given that this is an election year.
But they're to be commended for trying. They're motivated by a desire to save the lives of more South Carolinians. Revenues could bring in millions of dollars to provide health care for low-income South Carolinians.
Specifically, supporters want to use most of the revenues to provide health care for children from low-income families and to help small businesses provide health insurance for employees.
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A higher cigarette tax is especially desirable as a deterrent to teen smoking. Other states have successfully cut the rate of teen smoking by raising cigarette taxes.
South Carolina's tax on cigarettes, at 7 cents, remains the lowest in the nation. The national average is 92 cents a pack. The state loses 5,900 lives to smoking-related illnesses each year, according to the S.C. Tobacco Collaborative. The health-care costs ($1 billion) of many smokers are borne by the state.
Even some of the most pro-smoking states in the nation have raised cigarette taxes in recent years. Most South Carolina lawmakers, however, have stubbornly resisted such a reasonable initiative. But supporters of a higher cigarette tax are right to give it their best shot. The obstructionists can't hold out forever.