A new report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum found the number of packs of cigarettes sold in Wisconsin dropped dramatically over the past two decades. A comparison of cigarette sales in the year 2001 to year 2022 showed that sales dropped by more than half from 420 million packs sold in 2001 to 193 million sold in 2022.

The reduction in sales can be attributed to factors such as three cigarette tax hikes in Wisconsin (years 2002, 2008, and 2009), a ban on smoking in indoor places, and increased awareness of the harm of cigarette smoking. Wisconsin’s current tax on a pack of is $2.52, and the federal cigarette tax is $1.01 per pack.

The increase in taxes for packs was offset by the overall drop in the number of cigarettes purchased. In 2010, cigarette sales resulted in a total revenue of $644.3 million, or 4.3% of state taxes for that year. By comparison, revenue from pack sales in 2022 generated $482.5 million, a 44% drop in 12 years. Authors of the report also predicted the drop in sales will result in savings to the state in public health and health care costs for Wisconsin residents.

Join the Wisconsin Cancer Collaborative on March 2, 10:00am-11:30am for a Member Orientation webinar.

This webinar will give you an opportunity to ask the staff any questions you may have about the Wisconsin Cancer Collaborative and how your work aligns with Wisconsin Cancer Plan.

The American Cancer Society released their 2023 report on the nation’s cancer facts and trends. This annual report examines trends in cancer occurrence and survival, as well as information on symptoms, prevention, early detection and treatment. These reports are a reliable source of cancer data and are also readily understood by the public.

For the past 3 years, Wisconsinites enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program have not been required to renew their enrollment annually, and could only be removed if they moved out of state or died.

Last December, Congress included a provision in the end of the year spending bill to fund the federal government that set an end date of April 1, 2023 for Medicaid continuous enrollment. Starting in March, the Wisconsin Medicaid program will be contacting enrollees who have been on Medicaid for 12 or more months to let them know when they will need to recertify their eligibility for the program. The process to renew Medicaid benefits will start in June 2023, and run through May 2024.

Medicaid members are strongly encouraged to visit the ACCESS web portal to make sure their address and contact information are up to date. For more information on the unwinding process, visit the Partner Toolkit for BadgerCare Plus and Wisconsin Medicaid Programs website.

In January, in honor of National Cervical Cancer Month, we welcomed guest speakers from the Wisconsin Well Woman Program (WWWP) and Dr. Denise Uyar from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW).

Thank you to our speakers and attendees.