No More Cheap Tobacco

[michiganmom]

How many of you smoke? I do and wish i never started but the fact is i am very addicted. I seen on the news tonight that a $20.00 bag of tobacco will be $40.00 by april first. What do you think?

[rockymtngirl]

I think you are probably right. "Sin" taxes are more palatable to most - so I would count on it going up. We are in the same boat as you - we quit last summer then started up again. So I guess the best advantage we can give ourselves is to quit.... :-/

[tomato204]

Or at least grow your own to save money til you can quit. Good luck whatever you decide. :)

[Buck]

How many of you smoke? I do and wish i never started but the fact is i am very addicted. *I seen on the news tonight that a $20.00 bag of tobacco will be $40.00 by april first. What do you think?

Pipe tobacco only when up 153% which is still cheap compared to RYO &
OTC ciggies. While not common today women did/do smoke the pipe.

The tobacco I smoke only when up $1.25 a pound so it's a non-issue to
me. 8)

[Michael32170]

You can still avoid state taxes if you shop on Indian Reservations.

[neopat]

I think it is what it is....and it ain't gonna get any better. I can get a carton of Winston 100's for 30.00 here and I also suppliment that with "cheaper" brands/cuts. I also have supply of loose tobbaco too.
I have been smoking since 1966 and I dont think I'm gonna stop now.
You do know that these new taxes on tobacco are going for the S-chip health care program dont ya? Check it out.
I heard that in order to fully fund this program, they need to find 21 milliin more smokers!!! The Gov at work!LOL

[rockymtngirl]

My daughter works at a convenience store here in CO and the delivery guy said here price will go up $1 per pack on 4/1. Ouch!

[MIKENSUE]

What I don't get is they tax the crap outa cigarettes, ban smoking in every place but my own home, ban the ads, points programs etc. but cry about the loss of tax revenue when people quit. I have switched from my normal cigaretts to Sante Fe "little cigars" which I get for $8.29 per carton at my local Casey's store. She told me they are not taxed to the hilt, because South Dakota has a "cigarette" tax and not a "tobacoo" tax. Don't quite understand this because chew is horribly expensive as well. Marlboros are $45.44 per carton here. I say if they want to get a bucket load of revenue, start taxing soda pop, bottled water, pizzas and convenience foods which most of mainstream society is more addicted to than we smokers are to our cigarettes. I could go on and on about this, but that is a subject for another thread.
Another thing that frosts my cupcake is that many insurance companies will not pay for the prescriptions for the drugs to help you quit, but if I get lung cancer or emphasema they will pay for the medical care. DUH
Many insurance companies will also pay for alcohol or drug treatment as well, but where are smokers at? Left to deal with their addiction on their own, shunned by society, discriminated against and hated. Have you ever seen an ad for an apartment or house that says they do NOT want social drinkers to apply?
What gets me is what I am doing was promoted by our government for years as a way to deal with stress. Look at WWII, Korean War, early Vietnam war rations that had 2 cigarettes in every meal. Yet the government is trying to blame the big tobacco companies for all of it.
Sorry for the rant, but had to get this off my chest.

Sue

[duckidaho]

I grow my own, but I usually buy quite a bit of chew at the reservation. It is pretty cheap, if you don't chew Copenhagen. My homegrown makes good chew, but drying, curing, preparing tobacco for smoking is a more complex process. I've smoked some and it tasted terrible and had TOO MUCH nicotine. ;D

[Saoirse]

I like to smoke. It is annoying and expensive...but it is my only vice. (No kidding.)
Here are some tricks that help cut down. I felt better immediately when I started using additive free cigarettes, (Regular ones actually make me nauseous now. Hm.) Smoking outside only. Usually only 1/3 to 1/2 of the cigarette. I put it out and save the rest for the next time. I buy one or two packs at a time; I hate stores so this helps me to economize. Sometimes I leave them in the car or barn to remind myself to slow down. The result is that I cut my smoking down 50% without feeling deprived.

[walls0stone]

I had a chaw of real leaf in KY on my way home late one night from a job down south.. Drove clear to Upstate NY with out even blinking that stuff was so HOT.. man it's good

[tomato204]

I just hope they don't slap a big import tax on coffee. :o

[austin]

Just thought I would share perspective on price...
Here (in Canada) they are around $10 a pack- Canadian Dollars- which is approximately $12 US Dollars.

[duckidaho]

I'd definately be growing my own then. ;D

[Buck]

The anti-tobacco wars have managed to rob state/federal govt's of
billions of dollars in tax revenue by forcing tobacco underground
into a huge black market........and Joe/Jane Average is picking
up the tab for all this lost revenue!!

Tobacco is a prime example of how bad a nanny state can harm the public
with unintended consequences.

"Big Tobacco’s New York Black Market. How America’s Top Cigarette Firms Fueled a Billion-Dollar Underground Trade. “The cigarette black market in New York is enormous, and it’s brazen, and it’s carried out right under the nose of the government,” said Eric Proshansky, an attorney for New York City who has filed lawsuits against wholesalers and Indian vendors for their role in the illicit cigarette trade. So brazen are they, Proshansky added, that two New York smugglers are even suing each other in court over their illegal profits. "

The whole story of the huge scope of the black market in just one state....
http://www.smokersclubinc.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=5049

http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/tobacco/

[walls0stone]

Holy crap.. I actualy think buck has a point