An analysis published in December by Chmura Economics & Analytics found that the FDA's proposed nicotine limit would yield an annual loss of $24 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.
Furthermore, the rule could lead to more than 150,000 agriculture and retail job cuts across the nation, leading to additional negative “ripple effects” in local economies.
Chmura notes that the District of Columbia and all 50 states also receive yearly payments from tobacco companies as outlined in 1998's Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Biden's ban would result in additional TMSA losses exceeding $21 billion per year.
Ray Starling, general counsel for the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, told the Washington Examiner that North Carolina farmers would be financially devastated should the new rule go into effect.
"What people need to understand is we don't have people that are just tobacco farmers. They are tobacco farmers and also produce and vegetable farmers, or wheat farmers, or they also have hogs and cattle because we're a diversified [agriculture] state," he explained. "If you take tobacco farming out of the quiver of some of these farmers, it will be what sort of tips them over to the edge of being in the red and not in the black, and I don't think FDA made any effort to try to understand that."
**In general, I think smoking is not a good thing....but as pointed out...the cartels will fill the gap....like usual |
