N.Y. Smokers Face Highest Tax In Nation
Health Commissioner Says $1.25 Per Pack Increase Is A "Public Health Victory"
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New Yorkers start paying the highest cigarette taxes in the nation with the latest $1.25 spike per pack that officials expect to bring in $265 million a year. (CBS/AP)
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Photo Essay
Smoking Bans
Some breathe deeply while others fume as tough anti-smoking rules catch on.
Convenience stores across the state and the smokers who will be paying the price are angry about the change, but health officials hail the tax increase as a success. Cigarette taxes will raise a total of $1.3 billion for the state budget in fiscal year 2008-2009, including the new tax.
"Isn't that something - to say that I'm excited about a tax increase? But I am," said Dr. Richard Daines, the New York health commissioner. "This is a public health victory. We know one of the really effective tools to get people off of their nicotine addiction is to the raise the price."
Smokers will be paying $2.75 per pack in state taxes, a jump from the previous tax of $1.50. Before the new tax, the average price of a pack of cigarettes was $5.82 statewide, and about $8 a pack in New York City, which levies its own taxes, Daines said. The new retail price for a pack in the city could now soar past $10 depending on the store.
An estimated 140,000 New Yorkers will stop smoking with this tax increase, Daines said. That number is based on prior tax increases and cigarette consumption.
"Youth are particularly sensitive to the price of cigarettes, so this price increase is expected to prevent 243,000 youth from smoking," Daines said.
Daines said the tax increase is just one part of an $83 million anti-smoking effort that includes advertising and public service announcements, attempts to get tobacco consumption out of youth rated movies and cessation centers around the state.
"What we really want people to do is not to pay the price, but to stop smoking," he said.
Audrey Silk, who heads NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, said it's ridiculous to expect smokers to quit just because the price is climbing. She switched to rolling her own cigarettes since the last New York City tax increase and suggests other smokers will find similar ways to satisfy nicotine cravings.
"No product has a tax at this rate on it," Silk said. "If there was, there would be screaming, but since we've been beaten into submission and nobody listens to us, what else is there to do? It's unjustifiable and you turn to alternatives, and any consumer group would do the same."
Convenience stores, which historically count on cigarette sales, have also objected to the tax, saying it will drive smokers - and dollars - elsewhere.
"The tax increase is only going to feed that epidemic," said Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. "More and more smokers in New York state are going to abandon our stores that have to charge the tax and shift their purchases to places that don't charge the tax, most notably Native American stores, the Internet and bootleggers."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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See all 63 CommentsI''m willing to concede that if you''re trapped in a phone booth with a smoker for 30 years secondhand smoke might be a health issue, but beyond that I seriously doubt it.
Hey, guess what? They''re going to get that SCHIP money from somewhere, right? Guess who''s next...
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Posted by timothyone at 12:34 PM : Jun 03, 2008
I hope you''re being sarcastic...
Why not tax high end imported wines and liquors; top end imported cigars and top end prostitutes.... o that''s because those are the products that the law makers purchase. They don''t want to be taxed. The Indian reservations are going to love this. They will see a huge increase in sales (which will be counter productive as far as generating revenue). Not to mention taking money out of our communities and into others. Great going policy makers... good job
Bottom line: just another way to tax the lower and middle classes. Tell you senators and congress people that the governments (all levels) are going to have to start doing what all of the rest of us are doing, do more with less! Cannot keep taxing us at every corner to fund the government%u2019s inefficiencies
The problem is that these people who make this decision are x smokers, hate smoke or have had someone they know get sick or die from smoke. That could mean anynone. That''s who''s making these laws.
I think the one guy below said it right - watch out - alcohol is next!
I just say NO all the time now. I use to give people cigarrets but sometimes its the same person being a bum and asking for a smoke. IF YOU CANT AFFORD TO SMOKE THEN QUIT. One pack last me almost 2 or 3 weeks.
...who tried to sell me a bucket...
but he couldnt because..
there were too many laws...
so he threw up his hands and said..
VOTE LIBERTARIAN
Not a cent of the money they profited from all those multi-million dollar tobacco lawsuits or the outlandish cigarette taxes ever went into "actually" helping the public quite their habits. Many smokers started clear back when the health hazards to themselves were not even known, let alone those sitting beside them.
Are heroin addicts really that much more deserving than smokers? Methadone treatment is fully subsidized by state governments. This is obviously due to the fact that heroin addicts have been more inclined than smokers in the past to commit crimes in order to fund their habits, thus appearing more dangerous to the public, but that might not even be the case for much longer.
After smokers are gotten rid of...the obese will be next. Be prepared to be taxed on the ammount of calories in the food you choose to purchase. Macaroni and cheese---- $12.00 a box.
Posted by GrammaWhamma
They should tax junk food. And use the revenue to subsidize the expensive fruits and veggies.
Hide your money! The Democrats are coming!
Buy from Georgia they are $26.00 a carton.
Stupid a_s. He is excited about an unfair dicrininatory tax on the poor mostly that he won''t be paying. I am starting to get really discouraged when our government regulates every aspect of our lives. Does anyone see a problem here? I certainly do. There is something in the water in every captitol building in the United States. Don''t drink it or you will start trying to control everyone around you.
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Posted by GrammaWhamma at 04:28 PM : Jun 03, 2008
+ report abuse
Pound for pound probably yes lol
Then ban smoking - or why not make it $7,000 per pack?
The hypocrisy of trying to ''help'' you quit by legislating huge taxes is ridiculous. I don''t smoke anymore, but even when I did - I would have preferred they outright BAN it rather than continue on with this charade. Like the other poster noted, if they''re SO concerned about public health - why not dedicate all that EXTRA tax revenue to smoking cessation programs instead of plugging budget gaps or building stadiums noone can smoke in? They''re exploiting addicted people - plain & simple. So why not come right out & BAN it? Because THEN everyone ELSE will have to fork over more money - because THEN they''ll lose their thinly veiled guise of maintaining individual freedoms - because THEN they''ll usher in a prohibition style criminal market - because THEN it''ll be seen for what it truly is...
And for all you non smokers who don''t care one BIT because it doesn''t affect you? Do you or does anyone you care about consume, expose yourself to, or get involved in ANYthing that could be deemed of an ''unhealthy'' nature? Alcohol? Overweight? Casual s*x? Lack of excercise? Gambling? Are they raising their kids in the perfect way? Don''t think it''ll come to that? Well - no smoking in bars was a joke not too long ago....
That''s a good point - these kinds of ''sin taxes'' tend to be VERY regressive in nature.... Of course, you don''t see any of these states looking to stop their OWN gambling & lottery efforts do you? Gambling is addictive & dangerous - and it''s usually poor people who end up throwing what money that DO have away on those things....
Posted by zoe2006 at 05:36 PM : Jun 03, 2008
Bloomberg is no Republican...not by a long shot!
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