(Provincial N-D-P Leader Roger Duguay)
New Democrats are calling for a tobacco control startegy that includes raising taxes on cigarettes.
NDP Leader Roger Duguay says smoking is the No. 1 preventable cause of death in in the province which has the second lowest cigarette tax rate in Canada.
An NDP government, he says, would raise cigarette taxes by 2.5 cents per year over four years, bringing the tax rate in line with Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Duguay estimates the tax could raise about $55 million annually in revenue.
Practical, Responsible Change. That is the title of the NDP platform which will be unveiled in Moncton today. A party release says the document will actually reduce the deficit instead of adding millions to it like the Liberals and Conservatives.
Duguay says his party wants to protect health care from the cuts he is warning will come under the Conservatives or Liberals.
