smoking

Senate Bill 444 passed with nearly a two-thirds vote. The bill gives police the ability to write tickets for people seen smoking in cars with children present

Secondhand smoke in cars is 27 percent more concentrated than in smoker’s homes, according to the California EPA

May 23, 2012 -- Smoking and tobacco use currently provides Oregon with approximately $260 million in tax revenue each year, not nearly enough to account for the $2.4 billion that tobacco products cost the state each year. Still, the tobacco tax is a revenue stream, one that is expected to provide the general fund with $132.3 million for the 2011-13 budget. While that is only slightly less than 1 percent of the general fund budget, it would be a lot of money to scramble for if that revenue source ran dry.