The House Finance Committee passed out of committee House Bill 2493, which increases taxes on cigarettes and tobacco related products.

House Bill 2493 increases cigarette tax by$1 per package and taxes on other tobacco products are equalized. The substitute bill passed out of committee makes several changes to taxes related to other tobacco products and also requires the revenue generated by the taxes to go into the general fund instead of the Tobacco Prevention and Control Account. 

• Eliminates the separate Other Tobaccob Product tax classifications for roll-your-own tobacco and capsular smokeless tobacco.
• Lowers the maximum rate cap on large cigars from $3.025 to 65 cents per cigar.
• Eliminates the annual $18 million transfer from the general fund to the tobacco prevention and control account (The entire amount is deposited in the general fund). 
• Makes the tax on moist snuff purely weight based by taxing moist snuff at the per pack rate for cigarettes for each 1.2 ounce can. 
• Makes the bill effective April 1, 2010, except the tax on moist snuff, which is effective October 1, 2010. 

In addition the bill was amended in committee to specify that the moist snuff tax rate is the greater of: 95% of the sales prices or 83.5% of the per pack cigarette tax rate.

House Bill 2493 now goes to the House floor for further consideration.