What does it mean to pay $11 per pack of cigarettes? (insurance, money)

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by galactic_hombre

I read a news story stating that people in NY would be paying about $11 per pack of cigarettes because of all the taxes. Now, I don't smoke, but I do drink coffee and would have a tough time quiting--unless I couldn't afford to purchase coffee. I've heard that cigarettes and coffee are similar because they give a sense of calm or overall vitality. Assuming that nicotine and caffeine are similar, by how much would my bag of Starbucks coffee increase? I pay about $7.99 and the bag lasts me about 2 weeks.

$11 for a pack of cigarettes means most of it is tax and you should quit smoking.

[piyf]

Taxation is never the answer to a problem. But for a lobbyist and politician it is.

Big brother isn't taxing the hell out of cigs because he wants you to quit. It's quite the opposite.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by danieloneil01

Taxation is never the answer to a problem. But for a lobbyist and politician it is.

Big brother isn't taxing the hell out of cigs because he wants you to quit. It's quite the opposite.

I know that. But you should quit anyway.

[piyf]

Don't smoke but it's a free country. People shouldn't drink either or eat fast food. If I liked taxation I would be all for a $10 tax on fast food. Help pay for fatties healthcare.

[dude1984]

Switch to a cheaper form of tobacco like cigars...politicians will never make cigars expensive because they smoke them! Cigars were the only tobacco product that were left out of the PACT Act.

[Spraynard Kruger]

What does it mean to pay $11 per pack of cigarettes?

If you don't smoke now, boy, you had better pick up the habit for the children. Future generations are counting on you to pay your part.

[LongIslandEddie]

Originally Posted by dude1984

Switch to a cheaper form of tobacco like cigars...politicians will never make cigars expensive because they smoke them! Cigars were the only tobacco product that were left out of the PACT Act.

Here in New York, the tax on cigars just went up. I smoke "Cheyenne", been enjoying them for about two years now.
They're built just like cigarettes and are packaged like cigs but they have a dark brown wrapper which is made to look
like it was truly, a cigar. Although there is a health warning on the package, there is also this clever declaration:

"These cigars are predominantly natural tobacco with non tobacco ingredients added". I began smoking them
when the job had cut back my hours at the factory, I could no longer afford to smoke Top Shelf cigarettes but I had
to feed my habit, so when I found these little beauties there in the smoke shop and going for $2 a pack (20 smokes),
I just couldn't say no.

Tonight I got the bad news. I stopped down at the stationary store here in town to pick up my usual two packs
(I like the vanilla flavored ones) and all that was left were the "lights" and there were only a few packs left so I asked
the Pakistani behind the counter to give me a pack of the "light" blend, as a 50 year smoker, even distasteful smoke
is better than none at all. I hate the light and ultra-light styles and I imagine that they are as close to smoking a tampon
as any cigar-ette could be, but like I said, the nicotine demon was upon me and I handed the guy a five dollar bill as he
handed over the pack.

As I stood there waiting for the $3.00 change, he asked me if there was anything else that I'd like and I guess that I
must have looked like I was expecting to buy something else with the change that was due but when I replied, "no",
just my change, he told me that there was no change, my $2.00 pack had become a $5.00 pack, just that very morning!
He also told me that I was surely getting a bargain today because in another week, they will be costing me $6.50 a pack.
I guess I'm going to have to either quit again or start rolling my own. With the way that the cost of legal smoking has risen,
I think that I'll probably be planting tobacco next summer instead of the usual marijuana!

[piyf]

When I drink I always crave a cig. But luckily for the wife and I we can partake in it and not need them any other time.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by galactic_hombre

I read a news story stating that people in NY would be paying about $11 per pack of cigarettes because of all the taxes. Now, I don't smoke, but I do drink coffee and would have a tough time quiting--unless I couldn't afford to purchase coffee. I've heard that cigarettes and coffee are similar because they give a sense of calm or overall vitality. Assuming that nicotine and caffeine are similar, by how much would my bag of Starbucks coffee increase? I pay about $7.99 and the bag lasts me about 2 weeks.

It means the overall smoking rate drops and the few who do smoke try to get their cigarettes from elsewhere when possible.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by runningncircles1

Cleaner air? In car-choked America? Naive much? In which case, we need to tax the hell out of cars so that I can have clean air. Meat, too, because it contributes to global warming.

You've proven his point. It makes YOU happy. You don't need to raise prices to get people to not smoke in public. Just put signs up that say "No Smoking." They've done it in a few places already and it seems to be working. Only let people smoke in their homes, bars, and cars.

Actually, cars pollute a lot less today than they did even 10 years ago. Air quality has improved dramatically just about everywhere in the US over the last 30 years, and in most places over the last 10. E.G. -- A heavily polluted place like Los Angeles now has much cleaner air than it used to....only the areas well inland from L.A. like Riverside/San Bernardino have truly bad smog now.