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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Max H. Kelton Jr., MPA, Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, 3200 Marshall Ave., Suite 230-C, Norman, OK 73072, 405-325-4884, Max.H.Kelton.Jr-1@ou.edu and Michael Givel, PhD, Political Science, University of Oklahoma, 455 West Lindsey, Room 205, Norman, OK 73019.

In this study, we examined previously secret tobacco company documents from 1980 to present date that recorded the tobacco industry's ongoing national effort to avoid higher tobacco taxes outside of Native American reservations by selling tobacco products to lower tax Native American Smoke Shops. The tobacco industry has long recognized increased taxes on tobacco products to be a significant threat to tobacco industry profits, with scholarly research confirming if tobacco prices rise by 10%, overall tobacco consumption will fall between 2.5 and 5%. While the selling of tobacco products to Smoke Shops is lucrative to both the industry and reservations, a number of states have had great difficulty collecting higher tobacco taxes due to tribal sales of tobacco to non-Native Americans. State Tax Commissions have found that they do not have jurisdiction on Native American reservations and federal authorities have yet to respond to state appeals for help. The end result has been a major tax loss to the states, ranging from 15 million to 435 million dollars annually, depending on the state, and a significant increase in illnesses and death due to higher tobacco consumption in the United States.

Learning Objectives: