Written by Jon James|
According to an opinion piece at the Bangor Daily News website, Governor Janet Mills proposed $1 per pack tax on cigarettes (not to mention additional taxes on smokeless tobacco), will hurt both smokers and businesses. The tax would bring a pack of cigarettes in the state up to well over $12 per pack.
According to an employee at 32 General Store in China, the cost of a pack of Marlboros, out-the-door, is $11.44. Add a buck and your almost at $12.50. For those who can’t quit or enjoy smoking (yes, many do), this new tax will put even more of a hurt on them.
I will not judge anybody. I was a pretty regular smoker at one time and quit when my wife did back in the 90s.
Now, in full transparency, anyone who knows me will say, “you never quit!”
Actually, for the last several years I had none but now, when people call me out I have to say the they are, technically, correct.
Some months, I’ll have one or two cigarettes. A pack lasts about a year.
The thing is, I can have one (with a friend who smokes, which I do enjoy in the moment….and yes, I now buy my own -my dear wife got tired of me smoking “o.p.’s- that’s how I know how long they last) and be suddenly so repulsed by the smell on my hands that I have no desire for another. Most people who have quit look at me with awe wondering how I do it. I can’t answer that. Just have no desire to smoke on a regular, I suppose. I don’t get “hooked.”
Bottom line is, for good or bad, people in Maine are being priced out buying them…so don’t be surprised if you see people standing on street corners begging for a smoke!
So, what are the cheapest and most expensive states for a pack of butts?
The cheapest, according to SalesTaxHandbook.com, is Missouri with an out-the-door cost averaging $4.91 while the most expensive is in New York with an average cost of $19.55.
So soon, you’re likely going to have to make a decision…what expensive item are you going to opt for at the store? A pack of cigs or a dozen eggs?
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