Seventy-five dollars a carton?

[Kalhoun]

@Bambi Hassenpfeffer

Around here, anywhere from $11.99 for a carton of Westports to $34.39 for a carton of Benson and Hedges, plus local sales tax of 6 - 7%. The other two price points are (I think) $21.99 and $27.29.
Yes, I do work somewhere that sells them; why do you ask?

Dang! My B&Hs cost me $45.00/ctn. That’s including tax. I’m outside Cook County in Illinois. Cook County recently imposed a gigantic tax. And then won’t even let you smoke 'em in restaurants in Chicago.

[Antinor01]

I pay an average of 3.50 a pack, sometimes more depending on where I am. I smoke about a half pack a day, so I figure my monthly cost for smoking is about 55-60.

[Missy2U]

@Kalhoun

Dang! My B&Hs cost me $45.00/ctn. That’s including tax. I’m outside Cook County in Illinois. Cook County recently imposed a gigantic tax. And then won’t even let you smoke 'em in restaurants in Chicago.

A bit under $40 for Marlboro Box in Lake County - including tax. Let me know if you want me to pick up a carton for ya.

Actual anecdote - my stepson and his friend from Minnesota came down to visit over the weekend. The conversation:

SS - M2U, where in the hell do you buy smokes around here? I just spent $12 for TWO PACKS.

M2U - Where’d you get 'em?

SS - Shell

M2U - That was cheap. They’re usually around $13 for two at gas stations like that. Cheaper at the Speedway, of course.

SS - WHAT???

M2U - Yep. Cook County just increased the tax again - now we’re at about $6+ per pack. You should’ve gone up Rand to Puff N Stuff. 3 Packs for $11. and it’s less than a mile away.

SS - NOW YOU TELL ME???

M2U - Well, how was I supposed to know you needed cigarettes?

My step son loves me.

[Blanche]

@PoorYorick

I’d love to see the stats for this, too. Price wasn’t the reason I quit (it didn’t even make me cut down), but it was one of many.

My sister and brother-in-law both quit when cigarettes hit $2 a pack. My mom kept smoking until she was hospitalized for a month for smoking related illnesses, then started again after the apartments she managed had a large fire. She quit again when it put her back in the hospital, and hasn’t smoked since.

[tashabot]

@mangeorge

Andy Rooney said tonight on 60 minutes that the carton of Marlboros on his desk cost them $75.00. In New York City, I assume.
I’m an ex-smoker. I have little sympathy for smokers, and I’d like to see them all quit. Tomorrow. Sorry, North Carolina, Kentucky, etal.
But I see cartons in supermarkets for $45.00 or less. Discounters sell them for considerably less. These are “brand name” smokes, not the cut rate kind.
Anyway, my actual question is, do cigarettes actually cost $75.00/carton in NYC?
That’s $7.50/pack. $250.00 per month for the pack-a-day smoker.
How much do they cost where you live?
I think this question should be answered only by smokers. I’ve found that non-smokers exaggerate (lie big time) about this subject.
Also, this thread is about the direct dollar per carton cost of cigarettes, nothing else. Save the “harm” crap for another thread, please.
Peace,
mangeorge

Yes. They do. They’re that expensive throughout most of the state, and in Rhode Island, they’re worse.

Here in Nevada, they range from $25 - $40 a carton.

~Tasha

[Hal_Briston]

As good a place as any to mention – keep in mind that the most ridiculously easy method of quitting costs the same as 2-4 packs of smokes.

[mangeorge]

@Hal Briston

As good a place as any to mention – keep in mind that the most ridiculously easy method of quitting costs the same as 2-4 packs of smokes.

I’ve seen millions (well, dozens) of those foolproof systems. What makes this one different? And, have you used it?
We can talk now. We’re in IMHO.
Thanks, xash, who hates me.
Peace,
mangeorge

[ladybug]

@Renee

So, could a person in NYC purchase cigs by mail from somewhere cheaper? You would save a ton of money.

NYC has pursued civil RICO claims against a number of online tobacco vendors who sell cigarettes at a discount. The problem, according to the city, is that the purchasers aren’t charged the appropriate taxes for the sales, and the city loses revenue as a result. IIRC, all of the suits in federal court have been dismissed for pleading deficiencies.

[mangeorge]

@ladybug

NYC has pursued civil RICO claims against a number of online tobacco vendors who sell cigarettes at a discount. The problem, according to the city, is that the purchasers aren’t charged the appropriate taxes for the sales, and the city loses revenue as a result. IIRC, all of the suits in federal court have been dismissed for pleading deficiencies.

RICO? I bet RFK is a tumbling.

[Hal_Briston]

@mangeorge

I’ve seen millions (well, dozens) of those foolproof systems. What makes this one different? And, have you used it?

I wouldn’t call it a “system” so much as a change in perception. I read the book and thought “Huh…never looked at it that way before”. A few days later it occurred to me that I hadn’t had a smoke since I finished the book, and I wasn’t dying for one either. Haven’t had one since.

[Frank]

A carton here (of Kools) is $31.49. If I buy 10 packs by the pack, it is $36.50.

Cigarette prices going up don’t affect my smoking at all. I cut back somewhere else. (With the new law here, I’ve cut back on restaurants and bars.)

[Kalhoun]

@Missy2U

A bit under $40 for Marlboro Box in Lake County - including tax. Let me know if you want me to pick up a carton for ya.

I’m in McHenry County. I’ve got three Cheapo joints within a mile of the house. Phew! I still pay top dollah for my brand, though.

[Dottygumdrop]

Marlboros in Bahrain (next to Saudi Arabia) retail for about US$15 per carton!

Mind you, petrol is also only 26c per litre (about US$1 per gallon).