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The Contradictions of Government and Tobacco Use

By Alison Lake
Published on Wednesday, January 18, 2006
MARYLAND POLICY REPORT

For Marylanders who detest cigarette smoke for health or personal reasons and for Marylanders who savor the experience of lighting up a cigarette, state and county tobacco policies are fraught with contradictions. For example:  

• The Baltimore County sports fan with an allergy to cigarette smoke might not be able to watch a football game in a sports bar unless he drives out of his way to a smoke-free bar in Montgomery, Talbot, or Prince George’s counties.

 

• The smoker living in Montgomery, Talbot, or Prince George’s who pulls out a lighter in a restaurant or bar will be breaking the law unless she takes her offending activity out to the sidewalk.

 

• A state that officially values green space, farming, and its agricultural heritage tries to discourage the activity of farming tobacco, even though tobacco is a lucrative market for farmers and is a cornerstone in the state’s agricultural history.

 

• Maryland taxes cigarettes higher than any other retail product and profits $1.20 for every pack of cigarettes sold.

 

• Of over $400 million received yearly from the states’ tobacco settlement, Maryland spends only $9.2 million on smoking cessation programs.

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