New York – Lighting up will soon burn a bigger hole in some New Yorkers’ pockets.
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The state cigarette tax is going up on tomorrow from a $1.50 to $2.75 a pack, making the state’s cigarette tax the highest in the nation.
Combined with the city’s $1.50 tax on cigarettes, the price of the average pack will be pushed to more than $8.
State officials say cigarette tax revenues will generate more than $265 million for health-related programs.
Whatever it takes to get people to quit…
“State officials say cigarette tax revenues will generate more than $265 million for health-related programs.” The logic of this should make us squirm. Let’s give them the illnesses, collect money from them to get the materials, and then spend it on curing these same illnesses. The inherent contradictions are nearly comical.
Instead of taxing the cancer causing merchandise, outlaw it. There are no benefits to it. It’s addicting, costly, ugly, and dangerous. What’s so hard to figure out? Oh, I forgot, the tobacco lobby.
Nice Jpeg. Is that a chain link fence (Jail)behind him?
You really know how to portray us!
TYVM!
To Those That Smoke I Understand You I Read The Following Book “The Easy Way To Stop Smoking” By Allen Carr. It Costs Fifteen Dollars Cheaper Than Two Packs. Hatzlocha
Say what you will, but consumption tax is the fairest tax there is. The rising taxes and costs of cigarettes will eventually cause many more people to volutarily quit without creating a vibrant black market in tobacco. No solution is perfect, but this seems the most reasonable and productive.
just keep on hiking them, get those smokers to pay for hell!!!!!!!!!
If our feckless rabbinic leaders cannot come to BAN smoking at all locations, at least these addicts will pay something towards their lung cancer treatments
It won’t help people quit!!!
They should clear the tax from petrol and put on cigarets!
so now the goverment is going to HELP me quit, and HELP me lead my life the way they want me to. this is what i call democracy! BRAVO!
If they really wanted people to quit they would make smoking illegal or they would raise the tax to 500 dollars per pack.
raising it a few dollars is a money making scam. 8 dollars a pack is still affordable and smokers will pay it. if it was 500 dollars per pack nobody could afford it.
Again you’re picking on my husband!! Does it really both you that he has spent so much money, that we could have had a down payment for the house, had we saved all this money. Instead it went up in smoke, literally. Mind you, the hacking cough, the phlegm, YECH! We go through boxes of tissues for his spitting needs. The sidewalk is also his spitting playground.
If a woman would spend this kind of money weekly, every Rav or Dayan would insist that she receive treatment for excessive spending. The family would nebach her husband, while hinting that he deserves a finer wife. Some less than refined friends or family would outright suggest dumping her Need I go on.
OMG!! Now I REALLY have to either quit smoking, or stop driving my car! Between the gas prices and this cigarette hike, I’ll go broke in no time. I’m going to enjoy the last 2 packs of Capri that I have in the house, and that’s it for me. I heard that the book, “The Easy Way To Stop Smoking” by Allen Carr is very succesful. I think I’ll spend my last bucks on that and hope for the best.
Good luck to the rest of you smokers out there.
If they raise the price anymore it will backfire on them, as in Black Market You can’t tell me that people are not already loading up cartons full of cigs here in FL from the (Seminoles) Indian tribes in Hollywood FL and driving them up north (yes I know gas is Not cheap………but its probably still worth it to some)
Those who are addicted will pay the price.
It’s an incentive to quit.
Everything is going up, up, up — EXCEPT OUR SALARIES!! How are people supposed to live in this City/State anymore?
To all you smokers: NYC smoking is at an all-time low .
There’s less smokers than there’s ever been! It’s best is not to start.. and if you do, know that it’s out of style and no one is doing it..
Funny thing.. I’m in the agudah of avenue L daily .. I hardly ever see anyone smoking.
It is absolutely NOT an incentive to quit!! Addicts never quit because of price, whatever the addiction. They have no conpunction to cut back on food for the family and/or do or sorts of dreidlech to get $$$.
It won’t help for them to quit. What will happen is they will be ANGRY and vent their anger and from anger comes the want to relieve the stress, and there way of reliving stress is by smoking.
Also, “where there is a will, there is a way”
A smoker like a drug addict will find the way to pay for it.
nobody should buy cigarettes in nyc. either buy them illegally or buy them online from the indian reservations.
if cigarretes cost 8 dollars a pack and more than 5 dollars are for state , city and federal taxes… that is an outright theft!
how can they get away with this?
whats next? the goverment will decide that davening is wrong so they will add a 20 dollar tax on a siddur?
higher taxes on cigs = people will by other ways to avoid taxes = lesser income for the city = weaker economy = fewer jobs = more unemployed = more A.stressed /depressed people B. more time to smoke = more smokers = bigger demand = stronger black market = less income for the goverment… etc. etc.