SALT LAKE CITY -- Tobacco sales in Utah have dropped 15 percent since a $1 increase in the tobacco tax took effect last year.
Lawmakers and anti-smoking advocates cited the figures as an encouraging sign that many people have stopped smoking.
However, the tobacco industry countered that lower sales don't necessarily mean people are quitting. Instead, it could mean they are simply buying their tobacco elsewhere, said David Sutton, a spokesman for Philip Morris USA.
"Depending on how you want to look at the data, clearly there's been a move there downwards," Sutton said. "We suspect what it is, as it is in most states, is cross-border sales."
The figures showed that nearly 10 million fewer packs were sold since the tax increase went into effect on July 1, 2010, compared to past totals.
During the same time period, there was a 20 percent increase in tobacco sales in Evanston, Wyo., which is just north of the Utah border and levies a tax that is more than a dollar lower than Utah.
That equals more than 400,000 packs sold in the city this year at a time when sales statewide are flat.
Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who sponsored the tax hike, said the numbers in Utah were expected.
Despite decreased sales, revenue from the tobacco tax has almost doubled to $119 million, according to the Utah Tax Commission.
"You kind of get the best of both worlds," Ray said. "We've had a huge decrease in smoking, basically, and had a huge increase in revenue from the tax."
Anti-smoking forces said the numbers translate to as many as 19,000 pack-a-day smokers either quitting or smoking just a pack or two each week.
The increased prices will also discourage children and teenagers from smoking, said Michael Siler, director of government relations for the Utah chapter of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
Siler said rough projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that the reduction translates into about $37 million in reduced health care costs for the state.
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