# Are cigarettes still dirt cheap in Kentucky? Missouri? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209 "2020-03-24T23:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/1 "2020-03-24T23:22:58Z")
2 years ago I went to a Reds game and stayed across the river in Kentucky. Very nostalgic. Had a hotel room that allowed smoking, went to the bar and had a smoke with my beer. Ah, those were the days. Anyway, I smoke Newport reds and found that every store and gas station had them for about 27 bucks a carton. They’re around 70 here in Wisconsin. Also, 5 years ago I was dating a woman who’s neighbor was a trucker and used to get them in Missouri for about 33. Are prices still about that low? I’m starting to think with gas becoming so cheap, 1.57/gallon here, a road trip might be called for. And yes I know about the stupid virus, this isn’t the Pit. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/2 "2020-03-24T23:38:18Z")
Here are some prices: > **[Cigarette Prices By State – Fair Reporters](https://fairreporters.net/health/prices-of-cigarettes-by-state/)** Living in Wisconsin it looks like you could save about $2.50 a pack in Iowa, so if you buy 10 cartons or so it would be worth a trip. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/3 "2020-03-24T23:58:05Z")
From what I know the federal tax rate is about $1 a pack, and Kentucky also has about $1 a pack in taxes. I believe totally tax free cigarettes run about $2 a pack, so it should be $4 a pack at absolute minimum. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/4 "2020-03-25T00:14:38Z")
I see some Native American reservation and rancheria fuel stations don’t charge state sales tax. (They’re subject to federal regulations, not state.) That’s a Real Big Deal here in California. I have zero interest in cigarettes\* but I’ll guess some rez stores have-em Pretty Damn Cheap. Does anyone have numbers? I’m too lazy to look. 😉 - A good Cuban cigar is another matter. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/5 "2020-03-25T04:22:54Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > From what I know the federal tax rate is about $1 a pack, and Kentucky also has about $1 a pack in taxes. > > I believe totally tax free cigarettes run about $2 a pack, so it should be $4 a pack at absolute minimum. Again, this was, well now that I think about it, 3 years ago this summer. The Newports were 27,and the generic brands were about 20 or 21. Maybe something changed in taxing. I don’t know how the pricing is determined. I know that the generic brand I’ll smoke (Eagle) can be found in my Wisconsin town for 52 a carton, but just across the border in Illinois they’re about 42. I can’t imagine Illinois having a lower sin tax than us. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/6 "2020-03-25T08:46:57Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > I know that the generic brand I’ll smoke (Eagle) can be found in my Wisconsin town for 52 a carton, but just across the border in Illinois they’re about 42. I can’t imagine Illinois having a lower sin tax than us. Seems to me the evidence is right there in front of you. I don’t understand why you “can’t imagine“ it. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/7 "2020-03-25T13:26:11Z")
Missouri continues to support its 6 tobacco farms by having one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the nation. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/8 "2020-03-25T13:38:47Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Anyway, I smoke Newport reds and found that every store and gas station had them for about 27 bucks a carton. Are you sure about that? That would only be $2.70 a pack including state and fed tax. Even going back a ways that _is_ dirt cheap! Kripes, I remember when they were a quarter a pack. That was longer than 3 years ago, though. :o ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/9 "2020-03-25T14:38:27Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > I see some Native American reservation and rancheria fuel stations don’t charge state sales tax. (They’re subject to federal regulations, not state.) That’s a Real Big Deal here in California. I have zero interest in cigarettes\* but I’ll guess some rez stores have-em Pretty Damn Cheap. Does anyone have numbers? I’m too lazy to look. 😉 > > - A good Cuban cigar is another matter. Tribes have employees with business degrees too. They didn’t sell them at a state tax discount when I smoked 20 years ago. They just sold them to be cheap enough to make it worth making a stop at their smoke shop. Prices were roughly 25% of the state sales tax less. The price of 75% of state tobacco tax just added to their profit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/10 "2020-03-25T19:26:56Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > I see some Native American reservation and rancheria fuel stations don’t charge state sales tax. (They’re subject to federal regulations, not state.) That’s a Real Big Deal here in California. I have zero interest in cigarettes\* but I’ll guess some rez stores have-em Pretty Damn Cheap. Does anyone have numbers? I’m too lazy to look. 😉 > > - A good Cuban cigar is another matter. AFAIK, most Native reservations came to a deal with CA, and they charge most taxes. Remember the State owns the roads leading into the reservations… ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/11 "2020-03-25T20:02:26Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Are you sure about that? That would only be $2.70 a pack including state and fed tax. Even going back a ways that _is_ dirt cheap! > > Kripes, I remember when they were a quarter a pack. That was longer than 3 years ago, though. :o I can remember when they sold for 17 cents in vending machines. Dad would give me two dimes and ask me to go get his cigarettes. The package would have 3 pennies tucked inside the plastic wrap. I got to keep those. 🙂 If you pulled an additional lever, you also got a book of matches. I’d always get those, too (and not always give them to Dad. In fact if the previous purchaser hadn’t pulled the lever, you could get a free book of matches with no purchase. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/12 "2020-03-25T22:52:51Z")
Here in Missouri, a friend says she pays $64/carton for Salem Ultra Slims 100. She thinks it is one of the premium brands. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/13 "2020-03-25T23:19:43Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > AFAIK, most Native reservations came to a deal with CA, and they charge most taxes. Remember the State owns the roads leading into the reservations… The rancheria downhill from me charges state gas tax. One over on the Redwood Highway didn’t a few months ago. My sample size is small. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/14 "2020-03-26T16:39:10Z")
The cigarette tax in Missouri is a trifling 17 cents per pack. I checked this morning at one of the few places I shop that still sells tobacco products. The generic off-brands are $4.72/pack, the brands you’ve heard of but aren’t best sellers are about a buck more, and the premium brands are somewhere over $6. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/15 "2020-03-27T16:27:09Z")
NC used to be very cheap and there were places on I-95 and I-85 that sold a lot of smokes. Now we are about average since the tax went way up. It used to be 5 cents/pack or so for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/16 "2020-03-27T18:58:25Z")
What does a pack or case of cigarettes cost at the duty-free shops? Is that an absolute floor on the cost? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/17 "2020-03-28T07:14:07Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Are you sure about that? That would only be $2.70 a pack including state and fed tax. Even going back a ways that _is_ dirt cheap! > > Kripes, I remember when they were a quarter a pack. That was longer than 3 years ago, though. :o Yes, I can do the math. I walked into the gas station and asked for 3 cartons of Newport Red 100’s. Paid with a hundred dollar bill I won from the game.\* Walked out with folding change. \*There was a guy next to us at a Nats/Reds game. And, understand, I respect Red fans more than Cardinal fans. Stupid birds, but I digress, go Brewers! Damn I miss baseball. And A Buck’s title! Anyway, this guy was obnoxious about how much he hated ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/18 "2020-03-28T18:55:49Z")
Here are the cigarette taxes by state: [https://www.taxadmin.org/assets/docs/Research/Rates/cigarette.pdf](https://www.taxadmin.org/assets/docs/Research/Rates/cigarette.pdf) Missouri has the lowest in the nation followed by Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-cigarettes-still-dirt-cheap-in-kentucky-missouri/850209/19 "2020-03-28T19:03:43Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Are you sure about that? That would only be $2.70 a pack including state and fed tax. Even going back a ways that _is_ dirt cheap! > > Kripes, I remember when they were a quarter a pack. That was longer than 3 years ago, though. :o Back inna dawn a time, I was doing a WestPac on my submarine. The day we were going to leave Subic Bay, a vendor appeared on the wharf hawking smokes. I scored a carton of Marlboros for a buck. They didn’t taste very good, even for cigarettes. And a lot of them had mysterious pinholes in them. That mystery was solved when I found a little caterpillar right inside the tip of one. The mystery of why it took me another seventeen years to put the damn things\* away remains to be solved. \*(cigarettes in general, not that specific carton)