Dear Editor:
My name is Marianne Thies and I know something you should know.
Several times a year I drive to Iowa to visit family and friends. I was at a neighborhood bar and when introduced as being from Missouri, all the smokers got out their packs of cigarettes to show me the "Missouri Stamp" on the bottom. They routinely make a trip to Missouri to get cigarettes because of our low cigarette tax.
In fact, when I was in Davenport (300 miles from here) I heard on a local talk radio station, the host tell a person from Illinois that was complaining about the cost of cigarettes in Illinois to "Buy your cigarettes in Missouri like everyone I know!" What I know is if the state raises the price by 95 cents a pack, they will not earn more money in cigarette taxes, they will earn much less.
All those people from other states that buy cigarettes in Missouri will not continue doing so. Do you ever wonder why Missouri has the highest rate of smokers in the nation? That is why.
Vote no on that tax increase. When the state does not get those additional projected monies, they may come after your Diet Coke or beer or Twinkies.