Ore. cigarette tax rejected after spendy TV campaign

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: kgw.com


After a campaign marked by record amounts of tobacco industry money pouring into TV advertising, a cigarette tax increase to pay for children's health care was soundly defeated by Oregon voters in Tuesday's special election.

With 64 percent of the expected vote counted, Measure 50 was being rejected by a margin of 60 percent to 40 percent. Among Oregon's 36 counties, the cigarette tax passed only in populous Multnomah County, but was crushed in other places, particularly rural counties.

It was a stinging defeat for backers of the "Healthy Kids" plan. They had spent the campaign's final days going door-to-door, pleading with voters to ignore the cigarette makers' $12 million ad blitz and approve the increase to extend health coverage to 100,000 uninsured children.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a leading backer of the plan, said he still thinks most Oregonians support an expansion of children's health care but were heavily influenced by the cigarette makers' record-shattering advertising blitz.



Read more: http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8SOKOM80.html

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Sorry Ted. I would have voted for it if more than 30% of the money went to those kids, and if you had not tried to put it in the state constitution.