Will Cigarette Tax Make NY Quit?

Social News, Culture, and Interest Stories reported from the Big Apple.

Tip Box

Recent Party Pictures

LWALA Evening 8-3-08 Quogue Wildlife Refuge 8-1-08 Boat Float Fundraiser 8-1-08 Cartier Polo Match 8-1-08

Featured Interview

Jules KirbyJules Kirby is not just your average jet-setting international socialite. Rather than dazzling the benefit circle, Jules is more likely to be found on the beach surfing or diving in exotic destinations ranging from Thailand to St. Barths. This spring she added to her list of accolades and opened a boutique, Jolika, in Belle-ile-en-Mer, France - an island off the coast of Normandy where she’s called home since March 2007.

Editors

Rachelle J. Hruska | Editor

Stanley Stuyvesant | Editor

Publisher

J. J. Hunsecker | Publisher

Will Cigarette Tax Make NY Quit?

Yesterday was “NY Quits” Day, which was a nice way to spin the cigarette state tax jumping $1.25, and smokers are none too pleased with the new prices. I mean, if you think about it, that”s really only an extra $455 dollars per year if you smoke a pack a day, and if you”re already forking over at least $3,000 per year, why not an extra $500?

But it seems like the cigarette prices at the stand, which are now at least $8 per pack and up to $12 per pack, are making smokers think twice. In fact, most people are pissed, and even some serious chain smokers that I know are reconsidering their habit.

So, New Yorkers: Do you think the new tax increase will REALLY affect smoking rates, or do people just have to wait for the novelty to sink in before they get over their outrage and figure out a way to absorb the cost? Do you know anyone quitting due to the price increase alone?