The huge increase in California’s tobacco tax takes effect on April 1st, which is Saturday. Voters approved it in November as Proposition 56, which increases the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 2 dollars, or from 87 cents to $2.87. The tobacco education coordinator at the Nevada County Public Health Department, Shannon Glaz, says that may as much as double their current annual funding, which has been about $150,000 a year for the last 20 years or so. She’s not sure exactly how the $300,000 will be spent, but it will be a major boost for their various outreach efforts…

click to listen to Shannon Glaz

Glaz says the new money should also help with their campaigns to expand smoke-free areas and make it even more difficult for teens to buy tobacco products…

click to listen to Shannon Glaz

The California Department of Public Health says Proposition 56 will also fund the new state Oral Health Program and research on tobacco-related illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease. The department says the tax hike will also strengthen the Medi-Cal health care system and provide additional resources to enforce underage tobacco sales laws.