By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer
Given
how much Kentucky’s
budget depends on tobacco taxes, would a statewide smoking ban deal it a
staggering blow?
A
new poll shows public support for a smoking ban is inching up every year.
Though the ban likely won’t get a vote during this year’s General Assembly,
state politicians, including those who represent this district, are confronting
those economic questions more directly.
Between
settlement payments and taxes, Kentucky
collects an average of $321 million a year in tobacco revenue, according to a
report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Sen. Whitney Westerfield,
R-Hopkinsville, and Rep. Myron Dossett, D-Pembroke, both said they’d vote down
a statewide ban for this reason.
