10.27.2009

Phillip Morris Raising Cigarette Prices, Marlboro Price Increase

Phillip Morris, the company that owns Marlboro cigarettes and others, is raising their cigarette prices by 6 cents. It will take effect on Wednesday, October 28.

More info here

More news:

Salt Lake City legislature wants to increase cigarette taxes to $2

New York state government wants to tax Indian cigarettes, Indians trying to defend their rights to sell tax-free cigarettes

10.13.2009

Average Price of Marlboro Cigarettes

Cigarette Price Watch has done a recent tally from our sources around the country of Marlboro cigarettes. We're using Marlboro Reds. We're using around 54 sources, spread around the country, rural and urban, east and west.

The average price for a pack of Marlboro Reds is $5.75. The average price in urban areas is much higher, but taking into account all the states in America and all the areas, it's still under the $6 mark.

The average price of other cigarette brands like Camel or Newport are usually similar to Marlboro.

Taxing Smokers to Pay For America

A lot of people have negative attitudes toward smokers. The government knows that well, so non-smokers don't care about the taxes on cigarettes going through the roof, and smokers can't do much about it.

They want to charge ridiculous prices for tobacco to pay for health care and some new scholarships (and here).

In Chicago, rising cigarette taxes have had the opposite effect, bringing tax revenues down instead of up.

Many smokers in Wisconsin are heading to the Illinois border to buy their smokes, for much less price.

How far will they go? We'll have to wait for 2010, by then, some of the tobacco tax hikes may get taken down. Until then it'll be a rough road.

10.04.2009

Cigarette Alternatives - Cigarette Prices Too Much? Try these instead!

With the average cost of a pack of cigarettes in America at $6.00, buying cigarettes is a big drain on your wallet. There are a number of alternatives to smoking cigarettes, enough that you have many options to choose from.

Alternatives to Cigarette Smoking

E-Cigarettes

Electronic Cigarettes are a newly invented way of smoking. It's usually a battery powered device that looks like a cigarette that you inhale from. You inhale nicotine in a vapor, sometimes with smoke or not, depending on the brand.

Rolling/Making Your Own Cigarettes

Probably the most commonly used cigarette alternative. Buying tobacco and rolling it into rolling papers. Almost all smoke-shops will sell tobacco in pouches, which come with rolling papers, but you can also buy more. Smoking this way will cost about 1/3 of what you spend on cigarettes.

Not only do smoke shops sell tobacco in bags, but many regular places like gas station sell them as well. The taste and feel of smoking cigarettes you rolled yourself is different from premium brand cigarettes, it is certainly an acquired taste. You can order tobacco

There are also very nice brands of quality tobacco that you can buy.

Quitting

Of course, you could always just quit! Quitting smoking can be pretty hard. Nicotine is a very addictive substance. You can either go cold turkey, which means quitting outright with no assistance. Or you could use a number of programs that help you quit.

Smoking Less

Consciously try to smoke less cigarettes per day. Try buying a cigarette case that holds half as many cigarettes as you usually smoke per day, and only smoke the cigarettes in the case.

Slowing lowering the amount of cigarettes is a better option than cutting them in half quickly. Smoke 1 less cigarette a day every week until you get to the amount you'd like to be smoking.