Cigarettes in Maine now just shy of 5 bucks a pack

[Maine Mary]

The taxes went up 1 dollar a pack today. Perhaps I'm a little biased since I smoke, but it irritates me that it's being done (not to promote healthy living) but to balance the budget. Again. This is the 4rth cig tax increase in as many legislative terms.

The first and 2nd times I could understand, because smokers should pay their fair share for the health care burden. But it's no longer about that. It's about balancing the budget on one group of people. Why not liquor? It would take the sale of 4 GALLONS of beer to equal the amount of taxes derived from the sale of one pack of smokes in Maine.

I know many other states are following this trend and I think it's getting out of hand. And please, don't just tell me to quit. Smokers KNOW they should quit, just as overweight people realize they probably should cut back on the food. It's easier said then done.

There. Sorry about the rant. I had to say it though. :yoiks: Bracing for the flames....

[JVS]

1. That would be cool to drink 4 or 8 gallons of beer each day

instead of smoking 1 or 2 packs.

[Inland]

2. Well, liquor isn't bad for you in small amounts

unlike cigarettes, which if taken in the recommended doses will kill you.

And smokers are necessarily slobs, because it's a habit that has to be indulged RIGHT THERE and creates ashes and butts and whatnot that get dropped.

Well, that's my feeling. I'm not a huge fan of sin taxes/

[karlrschneider]

5. Well, I'm a smoker but I don't indulge in anyone's home unless they do

themselves and not in any other "smoke-free" buildings (should there be a 'duh' somewhere in there?)

I buy cigs made by Native Americans, for $2 a pack and smoke outdoors.
And please no lectures, I've already lived years beyond my expectations for the first 50 or so years. :D

[Maine Mary]

7. What are "the recommended doses" of cigs?

:shrug:

That said, I'm not a fan of sin taxes either but if we go in that direction, all of us "sinners" (smokers, drinkers, snackers ect) should share the tax burden.

[Inland]

8. You can't smoke ANY cigarettes without adverse health effects.

Unlike drinking and snacking, there's no "moderate amount" that can be consumed safely.

[Wildewolfe]

14. Smokers are NOT...

... necessarily Slobs.

I've smoked for 20 years and I may be a damned fool for doing it. BUT, I don't leave butts anywhere and ash outside is not, in my experience, an issue. If I have non smokers around me I move off, I try my best to not inflict my bad habit on others.

Yeah, there are a lot of folks that will just flip a butt away rather than properly dispose of it, but it's not all of us. ;p

[Inland]

31. Color me skeptical.

I've never seen anyone pocket a butt because there wasn't a good place to put it. Rather, the piles pretty much tell the story.

[Ksec]

3. Its funny how cons dont bitch about cig taxes

They get too much money from that bunch.

Its a tax on the poor. Simple as that since the poor smoke more than any other group.

[southpaw]

6. It's a tax on the stupid!

Big tobacco and the puke party go hand in hand.

Support the GOP... buy a carton of smokes!

[Inland]

13. Or on the addicted.

One of the aspects of a sales tax is that people tend to buy less of it, thereby decreasing the intended revenue.

But cigarettes have that most marvelous of properties. It is addictive, and demand is resistant to price in the short and medium run.

[Zomby Woof]

19. Are you calling Maine Mary stupid?

Reallll nice. :eyes:

She is one of the sharpest people on DU, or anywhere. She is human, with the virtues and frailties that go with that.

Nice "liberal" attitude. Constructive, too!

[Maine Mary]

21. Thanks ZombyWoof

You're so sweet! :hug:

[Zomby Woof]

24. Anytime!

People shouldn't cross me. Bad things seem to happen to DUers who piss me off. :evilgrin:

[Maine-ah]

4. I hear ya Maine Mary!!

We're gonna start rolling our own since taxes are less on rolling tobaco than on reg. cigs.

Drum tobacco w/papers is something like $5 and is supposed to roll 50 cigs. Plus, you won't smoke as much since ya gotta roll'em!

yeah, I know we should quit, so no sense in making that argument with me either.

[rooboy]

9. That's cheap...

for at least the last 5 years, a pack of 25 cigarettes in Australia has sold for around A$10.50, which equates to US$7.60 a pack. A pack of 20's would go for about US$6.60

Needless to say, I don't smoke anymore. Although a neighbour did give me a pack of cigarettes for Christmas last year :)

[charlie]

10. Cycle of diminishing returns

They're making mail order, across-the-border, and roll your own cigarettes attractively priced. So, when their tax coffers shrink, they'll do it again, creating further budget shortfalls...

[tritsofme]

11. Its a tax on the working class

Wealthy folks that still smoke for whatever reason can afford tax hikes and it doesn't affect them.

But I would be willing to bet a large disproportionate amount of smokers are working class and poor.

[the_spectator]

15. Yep, yet more regressive taxation.

It is also interesting to see the trend towards outright prohibition of cigarettes edge close and closer to completion, (can't smoke in bars, on beaches, etc. etc.) but never get there -- the government RELIES on those taxes now! As much as the upper-middle class health puritans want to ban it, they just can't!

(Also, I'm wondering, why is has this thread been Lounged?)

[Xithras]

30. It's a tax that anyone can opt out of at any time.

It's not a tax on the poor, it's a sin tax on a luxury item that is consumed specifically for pleasure. Even better, it's actually a convenience sin tax, because you can roll your own and escape the taxation in most states anyway.

A truly regressive tax is one that strikes the poor AND is required for living...things like food, gasoline, and electricity. Alcohol, cigarettes, and items like that are things that anyone can do away with, so taxing them really doesn't qualify as regressive.\

BTW, as a percentage of their respective populations, rich people probably do smoke more than poor people. The difference is that they tend to smoke cigars and pipes, which aren't affected by these taxes in most states.

[the_spectator]

36. Hmmm.

Well if we're going to tax "luxury items" consumed specifically "for pleasure" how about we tax things like "cilantro" or "ceviche" rather than cigarettes? Now THAT would be PROGRESSIVE, not regressive taxation!

[Misunderestimator]

38. Or better yet, Caviar and Lobster.

[Misunderestimator]

37. Exactly what I was going to say.

[yella_dawg]

12. Roll yer own.

Machine = $40, (google Excel Platimum) will last for years.

Expendables = $10, $15 per carton, due to different tax structure. Much easier on the lungs due to lack of additives (American Spirit all-natural or organic)

If you can't quit, at least you can ease the financial burden while improving the quality of your purchase.

[johnnie]

18. That's what I do

I can buy a bag of Gambler for 6 bucks and a box of tubes for $1.50 or so. That makes about a carton. The Supermatic works great and I have saved probably hundreds of dollars in just a few months.

[BurtWorm]

16. I quit after NYC raised its cigarette tax $1.50.

I'm not sorry I quit, but I agree with you completely about the cynicism behind cigarette taxes. They're the only kind of tax most Republicans will shut up about, especially if they don't. The fact that they're regressive probably makes them even more attractive to Republicans (outside the tobacco belt, anyway).

[the_spectator]

20. I'm sorry to hear it,

if you quit because they upped the taxes so that it now costs seven dollars to buy a pack in NYC, well, then the (health-nazi) terrorists have already won!

[Mrs.Matcom]

17. We roll our own

have for a few years now. PM me or Matcom and we will tell you how to order. Mass is close to 5 bucks a pack and has been for over a year.

[stopbush]

22. Because taxing cigs is just as easily done as said.

Sorry, but you smokers are fucked in the pocketbook and the health-o-meter on this one...and it's only going to get worse.

You have my sympathy - taking it up the financial ass while killing yourself isn't a picnic. And I understand that it's hard to quit, but people do it every day of the week. In fact, it's probably easier for a smoker to quit than it is for a politician to resist laying taxes on the social pariahs called smokers

It's hard to feel sympathy for the elective habit you chose for yourself when you were young and stupid.

Good luck to you.

[Maine Mary]

26. I was a State Rep. here in Maine during the first 3 cig tax hikes

And I voted for all of them. In other words I voted to tax myself. The first two times I was fine with it because as I said earlier, smokers should not be passing their health care costs onto others.

I was a little ambivalent the 3rd time because iy was headed into a balancing the budget mode... But I did vote for it.

This time was just not right.

[Ksec]

28. So you were a State Rep huh? How cool.

[GalleryGod]

34. Our Lady,MM..."walked the walk"

:pals:

[skygazer]

23. I quit when they went to a buck a pack

It was a good incentive. And yeah, smokers know they should quit and yes, I realize it's hard. But don't complain about the cost - it's a choice (and please don't tell me about addiction - I know all about it. I quit a 6 year heroin habit cold turkey - that was ten years ago. Once again, the cost was too high).

[Spinzonner]

25. Still cheaper to consume gasoline by the gallon

Ingestion or burning externally not recommended however.

[The River]

27. No Pity Here

They can raise taxes on cigs as much as they want.
Maybe it will go beyond what I can afford and force me to quit.
After 40 years of 1+ pack a day, doing bike rides more
than 100 miles is getting harder each year.
pedal pedal hack...

[Ksec]

29. Pity not needed, less taxes are.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

32. Cigarettes and gas

We'll buy them, no matter how much they cost.

Some people need both of them to live.

Alas.

[GalleryGod]

33. Can I bum a marlboro, MM ?

:loveya: :smoke: :loveya:

[Maine Mary]

35. Anytime my friend

:smoke: :hug: