City smokers to start paying $7 a pack today

News Radio 88 ^ | 7/1/02

[areafiftyone]

(New York-AP) -- It's costly to be a smoker in New York City now.

Beginning today, cigarette smokers in the city will pay more than seven dollars a pack for many major brands. The Bloomberg administration's new tax on cigarettes is expected to raise an additional 111 (M) million dollars of revenue this year.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the tax will prevent 50-thousand deaths -- including over 33-thousand premature deaths among city children.

The law raises the city tax on cigarettes from eight cents a pack to one dollar and 50 cents a pack.

Smokers in New York City will now pay more than double the national average for cigarettes.

Critics of the new tax say consumers could avoid the taxes by buying cigarettes over the Internet, in nearby states or from Indian reservations and from the underground market.

The mayor spent months negotiating with the City Council over how to close a five (B) billion dollar budget gap.

Besides the new cigarette tax, new fees were approved for cell phones and parking tickets for the budget year -- which begins today.<

[dennisw]

Does your wife buy her, her cigarettes too? :)

[DETAILER]

"The Bloomberg administration's new tax on cigarettes is expected to raise an additional 111 (M) million dollars of revenue this year."

What is to stop people in NY from calling a store, say in Georgia or wherever, and paying for their cigs by credit card and having the store mail them?

[Consort]

Symbolism and substance on display: Now we can literally see our tax dollars go up in smoke.

[wheezer]

I think (I'm not a lawyer) you'd still be liable for the NY and NYC tax.

[areafiftyone]

Easthampton is about a 3-4 hour ride from my home. Would be about the same to ride upstate. Besides I like it down south better. People are alot friendlier. :-)

[areafiftyone]

Excuse me I meant Westhampton.

[BullDog108]

Just buy them on the web:

http://www.discount-cigarettes.org/index.shtml

It may be illegal, but who cares, and how can they enforce?

[nravoter]

What is to stop people in NY from calling a store, say in Georgia or wherever, and paying for their cigs by credit card and having the store mail them?

I think people have been using that technique for awhile to buy cigarettes from Indian reservations out west, where sales aren't subject to taxes, or at least escape a portion of taxes.

[1Old Pro]

cigarette smokers in the city will pay more than seven dollars a pack for many major brands.

DOUBTFUL. But the convenience stores in NJ had better increase inventories.

[1Old Pro]

The only unanswered question at this point is how much will tobaco revenues plummet?

Hopefully by at least 25% so we have a precedent for all these other economic "geniuses" like Gloomberg.

[BullDog108]

What is to stop people in NY from calling a store, say in Georgia or wherever, and paying for their cigs by credit card and having the store mail them?

See #47. Mail order is BOOMING!!!!

[oldironsides]

Tax on and for the addicted. The tobacco users will not stop smoking because they are addicted. They will just short out something else in the life. Government is as addicted to tobacco tax as the smoker is to tobacco. The government funds the growers while taxing it's use. The fields in this area have hundreds of acres planted in tobacco. The Amish are growing it and who is planting it? The Amish tots are sitting on the back of low rigs , bending over and placing the plants in the soil as the mule or horse moves slowly down the row. It is so pathetic to watch the children on TV attacking smoking while very young children are being used to plant it. We live in a world with children planting, government subsidizing, tobacco users bashed, government slobbering over the taxes produced by smoking and lawyers drooling over the lawsuit results on cigarette manufacturers.

I do not smoke at all. I find the missing billions in Washington DC far more disgusting than smoking. Department of Education not audited in 3 years and missing huge amounts of money? There is something very wrong going on in America and it is not smoking. Where is all the missing money from Education, Medicare, Interior, Defense and other areas. Taxing more? Find what they have been losing via fraud, theft and incompetence first.

[TheRightGuy]

Making criminals out of common people seems to be the theme of the day.

ABSOLUTELY....
Tax goes up an additional $4 per carton today in Illinois. I saved $5 per carton last week shopping in Indiana, will begin saving $9 per carton this week. Just wrote my state senator and told him so!

[hellinahandcart]

Well, there's always the PATH train, since I don't have a car. What's the price per pack in NJ? Where's the cheapest place to buy cigs in Hoboken?

[hellinahandcart]

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the tax will prevent 50-thousand deaths -- including over 33-thousand premature deaths among city children.

Strange that he hasn't told us how many children will be saved by raising the parking fines from $55 to $110.

I was trying to explain to someone this morning, how this so-called financial whiz has just insured that revenues will go DOWN. Would *you* bring your car into the city to shop now? I didn't think so...

[VermiciousKnid]

There are several NA stores on Long Island (in the Mastic/Shirley area). Take the LIRR and grab a cab. Lucky for me, it's only a ½ hour drive.

Happy shopping!

PS: The name of the tribe is Poospatuck.

[MEGoody]

Is your mother in law diabetic? I've never heard of someone losing a leg because of smoking - but it happens frequently because of diabetes.

I understand your 'hatred' of smoking, but I find it appalling that they tax cigarettes as they do, yet barely touch liquor and leave porn totally unscathed. Perhaps those two 'sins' are the politicians favorites.