NYC Cigs Hit a Smokin' $10 a Pack

Advocates hope 62-cent federal tax will reduce deaths, costs
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 8, 2009 1:48 PM CST
NYC Cigs Hit a Smokin' $10 a Pack
The NYC price is higher than anywhere in the country and more than twice the national average. And beginning April 1, two-thirds of that cost will be made up of city, state and federal taxes.   (Shutter Stock)

Smokers in New York City will soon be shelling out $10 for a pack of cigarettes, the New York Post reports. Lawmakers plan to pay for the new Children’s Health Insurance Program law with a 62-cent federal tax on cigarettes, pushing the NYC price to a 10-spot—the nation’s highest and more than twice the national average.

Starting April 1, two-thirds of the cost will come from city, state, and federal taxes. A health advocate said the price hike could help reduce the state’s 35,000 smoking-related deaths each year and $1.7 billion in health costs.
(More cigarettes stories.)

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