The city of Aspen imposes a tax on the sale of cigarettes in lieu of the state tax. When this was implemented by City Council, it was explained as a way of reducing tobacco use. The amounts of taxes collected substantially exceeded the amounts projected when the tax was proposed. This raises the public policy question of whether the tax reduced tobacco usage, as projected by the city when the tax was implemented.
Are you able to tell the citizens whether the number of packs of cigarettes declined, increased, or remained the same in the year before and the year after the tax was imposed?
Maurice Emmer
Aspen