10.23.2012

Cigarette price news November 2012 and smoking alternatives

News

Phillip Morris was down over 6 percent in the 3rd quarter of 2012 despite raising their prices

Reynolds American was up over 7 percent in the third quarter of 2012.

A history of how small tobacco firms took over the big dogs in the early to mid 1900s


Alternatives to smoking thrive

Many cigarette companies are learning that alternatives like E-cigs and smokeless forms of tobacco are gaining in value

7.06.2012

New Federal Highway Bill will shut down many roll your own machine shops

In response to tobacco taxes, many stores have been popping up over the last couple of years where people can make their own cigarettes with special machines. Obama's new federal highway bill has a part which will shut down these new stores. This isn't good news for people who use these shops, but you can still buy your own manual cig maker. There seems to be little stopping the government from going after smokers at this point!

6.06.2012

California cigarette price increase Prop. 29 fails

The proposed tax hike on cigarettes in California failed. This is good news for tobacco users in California. Taxes are generally high in California, but their tobacco prices are only the 32nd highest in the country. If this law passed, California would have had the 16th highest cigarette taxes in the country. The bill narrowly failed by a 51-49 margin.

5.25.2012

American Austerity and Cigarette Taxes

There's a lot of things going on in the world today, economy wise. Some European countries like Greece are having austerity programs. Austerity means cutting programs and raising taxes to get more money for a government as a result of a bad economy. This has only sort of started in America. One of the main reasons for demonizing tobacco smoking is so that the government can tax it so much. They've been exorbitantly taxing cigarette smokers in America for the last couple of decades, but with the economy being bad, there is good reason to believe that the already sky-high taxes on cigarettes may go higher. Watch out for austerity measures, and higher tobacco taxes.

California Prop 29 will be decided soon

In California, Proposition 29 may raise tobacco taxes even more. The vote is in a couple of weeks. Tobacco companies have been trying to get voters to be more aware of the new proposition. A few months ago, there was far less opposition to the bill than there is right now. As of May 25, there are still more people that support the new tax hike on cigarettes in California, but the tobacco companies have been making ground. This new tax increase is going to be a toss up.

3.31.2012

Cigarette Rolling Machines Review

With the new seemingly permanent high prices of cigarettes, finding ways to smoke for less cost is something a lot of people are looking to do today. The problem is that it can be a little confusing for people new to it. There are so many different ways to make your own cigarettes. Here's a short review of the various methods of saving money by making your own smokes.

1. Hand roller with papers or rolling by hand



The simplest way is to roll your cigarettes by hand. All you have to do to do this is buy rolling tobacco and papers. This method requires a certain amount of skill though. It's not good for beginners.

You can also buy hand rollers that can roll the cigarette for you. This is recommended for people who aren't that good at rolling their own cigarettes. Most tobacco stores will sell these devices. You can also buy filters that are made to be used with the hand rollers if you prefer. These hand held rollers cost only $2 to $4 dollars, and papers are not expensive either. A bag of 200 cigarette filters is about $2 to $3 dollars.


2. Using an injector with cigarette tubes



The closest to real cigarettes is by using a tobacco shooter, also known as a tobacco injector. These small, usually plastic devices cost $5 to $10 and last a while. You need to buy them with pre-made cigarette tubes and tobacco. When you make a cigarette with an injector, they are just like real cigarettes. Pre made tobacco tubes are cheap, about $2 for 200 of them. It can take some time and skill before you learn to use an injector the right way though. Be careful not to put too much tobacco in the shooter or it will jam up.


3. More expensive cigarette making machines



Cigarette making machines are similar to an injector, but they are made of metal and last longer, can make better cigarettes, as well as a better cigarette. These can cost anywhere from $50 to $100 dollars. You are better off buying these online because not many places sell them. The only places I've seen them are tobacco shops. Smaller places like convenience stores don't sell them. You will also need pre-made cigarette tubes for these. These can produce more cigarettes faster than a simple injector can.


4. What type of tobacco to use?



In the last few years, the price of loose tobacco has gone through the roof. Brands like Bugler and Top, which sell bags and cans of cigarette tobacco have been subjected to very high tax increases, which has made them not that much cheaper than just buying packaged cigarettes.



The solution is to buy smooth pipe tobacco, which is not subject to the same taxes because it is technically pipe tobacco. Since it is a smooth flavor, it is more loose and can be used for cigarettes. When buying pipe tobacco, always go for a smooth and mild flavor over a strong flavor because the strong flavor is really for smoking in pipes. You will need to go to a tobacco shop or even a pipe shop to find this type of tobacco, but it is much cheaper than cigarette rolling tobacco.

If you can, try buying your tobacco online. Buying tobacco from an online vendor is usually cheaper than buying it in a store. Do a Google search for online rolling tobacco to find a good site to buy from. If you have any questions at the tobacco store, just ask the person working the counter, they will help you begin making your own cigarettes.

3.28.2012

Roll your own tobacco stores thriving in Ohio

In Ohio, people have sought different ways to deal with the high cost of cigarettes, prices that probably aren't going down anytime soon. One way to deal with the prices of tobacco is to roll your own.

At Medina Smokes, in Medina, Ohio, they use large machines that pack tobacco into pre-made cigarette tubes. This is an evolution of the older methods of rolling tobacco into papers, or stuffing the tubes yourself with a small machine called a shooter. At Media Smokes, people can make a carton's worth of cigarettes for under $25.

You can probably expect this kind of thing to increase, tobacco shops with machines that customers can use to make their own cigarettes. As well with the increase of cigarette making machines, the government will try to crack down on them as well.

Why Cigarettes Cost More Now

The amount of people that smoke in America has declined over the past few decades. 40 years ago, as many as 40% of people smoked. Today less than 20% of people smoke nationwide. This means that the tobacco companies are making less money. If they want to keep their income up, they have to increase the prices of each pack of cigarettes.

Even though taxes keep the price of tobacco high, the price of packs themselves has gotten higher. It doesn't cost that much to make a pack of cigarettes, but the big tobacco companies are still slowly increasing the costs, on top of the taxes.