Cigarette Prices

I'm glad I quit a long time ago. I was in line at my local Rite-Aid with a gallon of milk in my hand. As I waited to be checked out I noticed $8.74 is the price for a pack of cigarettes. When I smoked $8.74 could buy a carton. I'm from New Jersey. We are taxing the hell out of smokers. Is there something wrong with this? I think the majority of smokers are not financially fit. The tax gouging seems unfair...not causing smokers to quit but rather causing them to choose between cigs or decent food on the table. What do you think?

 

I'm getting used to the $11.90/pack here in Edmonton. Quebec had the best prices in Canada I think though, they were still low around $5-ish.

 

I smoked for way too long, but quit 28 glorious months ago.

Your prices are high, but they are even crazier in NY. Last time I was up there, I saw them for $12 a pack.

Just like anything else, people make their own decisions and need to stand by them.

 

I stuff my own. 1 bag of tobacco is $15.00 and is enough for 2 cartons of cigs. 2 cartons of filtered tubes is $3.00 - $1.50 each. So my carton cost comes out to $9.00 a carton. And this is good, no chemicals, no spray toppings, no anything else tobacco from a company called Daughters and Ryan in North Carolina. Specifically, I use their Three Sails brand. A very nice tobacco. I couple it with Beretta Elite (light) tubes and it makes for a very pleasant cigarette. I may be addicted but I also really do enjoy my smoking. I'm one of those that actually likes trying different tobaccos from around the world and paying attention to its notes and makeup (pH balance, dry leftover, shake behind, etc.).

 

I don't remember what a carton cost back when I smoked, but I remember scraping change together to get $1.60, which was what a pack of the high end brands cost then. If you couldn't quite meet that GPC was always there...

Single packs cost approx. $5 down here on the border. Cost of living down here is cheapest in the nation, so that price should be pretty close to the cheapest you'll get in the U.S.

 

There's a brand sold here in Mississippi called Seneca and it's pretty popular because it's $3.90 a pack or $39.00 a carton. Of course, the old saying... you get what you pay for. They are nasty. Was only about 4 years ago you could a carton of Marlboro for that same $39.00 but then Mississippi jumped on the "raise tobacco taxes now!" bandwagon.

 

I went looking for the prices here in Minnesota, since I don't smoke, and found out we have minimum prices set by the state. Most brands are $4 to $7 per pack, with some outside those limits. How odd that the state should set minimum pricing. It seems to me that should be up to the seller.

I also found a list of state imposed excise taxes. At the top is New York at $4.35/pack (NYC adds another $1.50/pack) and at the bottom is Missouri at $0.17/pack. Average is $1.46/pack

Federal tax is $1.01/pack for "small" cigarettes and $2.11/pack for "large" cigarettes. I have no idea what the difference is.

That's quite a money maker for state and local governments. I guess smokers are an easy target.

 

I buy my smokes on a reserve near by cartons are $22 and when you buy 10 you get the 11th free. I can't justify $11 a pack or $75 a carton . That being said I have 2 packs left in my current carton and then I'm going to try and quit again. Wish me luck!

 

I'm glad I don't smoke anymore. Jeez......$8 a pack or worse? It seems like the lower prices are rare.

Damn.

 

Sad, remember when both Gas and Smokes were about 28 cents!

 

Never been a smoker as it never appealed to me. I used to smoke when I went to bars but, thats about it. Dipping snuff, now that's my achille's heel, because I can't seem to shake the habit. I've been dipping a can a day since I was 15 and now I'm 42. Copenhagen was my first brand and I loved it and it only cost about .50 cents, now I think it's about $6.00 a can and they only fill it half way. I haven't used Copenhagen in 5-6 years going in favor of the smaller companies and much cheaper prices along with getting a full can.

 

While I enjoyed reading your responses I think the point of my post may have been missed. The question I am asking is whether it is fair for the government to exploit nicotine addiction as a means to raise revenue.

 

Sorry Rich, but specifically asking about how one feels about what the government does or doesn't do is just asking for political trouble. I'm closing this before it even gets there.