Tobacco tax, medical review clear committee.

By Jennifer Frazer, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 3--CHEYENNE -- A tax increase on cigars and smokeless tobacco cleared the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning along with five other bills.

"We need to get a toehold on the fact our youth use (smokeless tobacco) at double the national rate," said Jan Drury of the Wyoming branch of the American Heart Association, who spoke as the bill was introduced. The bill increases the tax on smokeless tobacco, cigars and other tobacco products from 20 percent to 40 percent for wholesalers and from 10 percent to 20 percent for consumers.

Dan Sullivan, a …