[RabidBartender]

How long until Hilda-ry introduces a bill that will give 'cigarette vouchers' to welfare recipients and single mothers?

[Jn316]

Ouch. Glad I don't smoke (;-)

If that's not inspiration to quit...I suppose smokers will just stock up in another state.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The last pack I bought cost $.55

[aruanan]

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

This should read: The Bloomberg administration's new tax on cigarettes is expected to raise an additional 111 (M) million dollars of revenue this year for organized crime selling bootleg cigarettes and for cigarette merchants in surrounding states.

[apillar]

The title of this story should be:

City Smokers to start driving to New Jersey to buy their cigarettes today

[AppyPappy]

A tax on the poor.

[DETAILER]

Would it be legal for me to buy cigarrettes in my own town, then take them to NY and sell them to someone? A private sale?

[Dog Gone]

The black market will have a field day. Tax receipts from cigarette sales will probably drop as smokers find ways, legal or otherwise, to circumvent this ridiculous tax.

It was this kind of thing that caused the Boston Tea Party.

[RightOnline]

For anyone left who still thinks that Bloomberg is actually a "Republican".

[Publius6961]

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

Mr. Bloomberg desperately needs to revisit the results of the boat "luxury" tax.
The only unanswered question at this point is how much will tobaco revenues plummet?

[PeterPrinciple]

Just to put this in perspective, can anyone tell me the cost of tax vs the cost of the product for tea at the time of the boston tea party?

I don't smoke either but this is getting bad.

[eddie willers]

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

I know....
I see all those 3 year olds buying all those cartons and I'm thinking, "They'll be dead before they're 15."

Oh the humanity.
(and silly reporting)

[biblewonk]

I am sure spending a lot of effort taking care of my Mother in Law who smoked herself into a wheel chair. She lost her leg due to bad circulation due to 57 years of smoking and eating junk food. Now she wants Medicare to buy her new leg for 8500 bucks, which they did. BUT, now her stump shrunk and they want to sell her/medicare another 8500 dollar leg after only 12 weeks. Meanwhile my wife and homeschooling mother of 8 has to haul her all over the city to get her hair done and buy her groceries and take her to new leg therapy. Her Dr told her she was too old and only 1 out of 5 people her age can use a fake leg. AND THE WOMAN IS A DEMOCRAT!!!

I could give a rats ass how much they tax cigarettes.

[TomGuy]

Native American stores both in NY and over the internet will probably see a boom in business. I'm 1 mile from a NA store (Oklahoma), and their native brand is about 1/5 of those NYC prices.

[WKB]

I've been saying for years that I couldn't afford to smoke if it "cured" cancer. This proves it!

[Flyer]

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

Doing a little smart shopping I can get most major brands for $3 - 3.50 in Houston. I smell a business opportunity.

Oh yeah, I know it's illegal.

[verity]

It's costly to be a smoker live in New York City...

[Just another Joe]

EXPENSIVE Puff

[300winmag]

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

And where did he get those hard numbers? The same place liberals get all their statistics, right out of their ass. But they know the kneepad media will never challenge their numbers. Meanwhile, they'll write "Bush alleges two plus two equals four".

If these numbers were even 10% correct, it would be criminal and immoral not to ban smoking. By their own numbers, they place government revenue above the saving of innocent lives. That's the sort of thing they regularly accuse conservatives of doing.

I don't smoke, but I'd rather spend my life in a room full of guys smoking cheap cigars than have to put up with these smoking nazis. I'll be cheering on the "buttleggers", who are really freedom fighters.

[TBall]

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