Bill to raise Georgia’s tax on tobacco products gets bipartisan push intended to tamp down smoking

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including several who work in health care, has lined up behind a proposal to raise the tax rate on cigarettes and vaping products in the name of public health.

Georgia’s 37-cents-per-pack tax is one of the lowest rates in the country – second only to Missouri – but efforts to increase the rate in the past have gone nowhere fast.

But House Speaker Jon Burns has appeared to leave the door open to a potential increase when asked by reporters this session, leaving proponents optimistic about their chances. It also helps that it’s not an election year.