NYC Minimum Cigarette Price Rises to $13

[PeaceTrain]

The New York City Council approved a measure last week to raise the MINIMUM cigarette price to a whopping $13 per pack.  Of course there already are cigarettes currently at that price point for sale in NYC but most brands can be obtained for a few to several dollars less per pack.  Surprisingly, there are a number of City Council and other city officials who are active admitted smokers and who are supporting this measure.  Their position is it will be beneficial to reduce the number of people who start smoking to begin with and be an added incentive to quit for people who already do.  Conversely, there are also those who say this will have a disproportionately negative effect on lower income folks who "haven't been able" to quit.  

 

What I'd like to see is more widespread education about nicotine addiction, such as what we have available to us through the Joel Spitzer videos.  Yes, this information is readily available on line, but one has to be in a particular place to seek it out.  The scary quit smoking commercials on TV are so horrifying that when I was a smoker, I'd leave the room or mute the TV when they were on.  Maybe they scare some people straight, but not me- I just covered my ears and hummed a tune.  Also all the federal, state and local programs that assist with quitting advocate NRT as the route to "kicking the habit" when we all know here that cold turkey has by far the highest success rate (and that it's way more than a "habit"- it's a deadly addiction.)  These NRT programs help to perpetuate the myth that nicotine addiction is almost impossible to overcome and that people need all the "help" they can possibly get to successfully quit.

 

What would YOU like to see to help people escape from the death trap?   

 

P.S. On a selfish note, I'm glad I don't have to care about the price of cigarettes. 

[Doreensfree]

I have a friend..who puts black tape over the horrible pictures...

So she doesn't have to look at them..when she takes them out of the packet..denial !!!!

What she carnt see won't hurt..

I think addiction should be addressed in schools..educate the young...this is where it should begin...

Back when I started at the tender age of eleven..I don't suppose I imagined myself still smoking 52 years later ..

But if I had the knowledge..I might not have started at all...

[Boo]

What would YOU like to see to help people escape from the death trap?   

 

A three-step plan: education, education, and education.

 

The Quit Train and similar forums are a great tool.  A place where information is consolidated and quitters can share their experience.

 

As for the exorbitant taxes in New York, you'll have to excuse me if I seem unimpressed by the move.  The government, as usual, is leading from behind.  Smoking numbers in America have been on a steady and dramatic decline for years.  This trend began when the government was still in bed with big tobacco.  As the numbers of smokers in the United States continues to decrease, big tobacco has shifted their marketing and lobbying efforts towards developing nations.  And right about the time the lobbying dollars started to dry up here, our government had a great awakening concerning tobacco.  Pure coincidence?

 

Perhaps the move will convince some to quit and others not to start.  Of course the politicians driving this move will get yet another refresher course in the law of unintended consequences.  With every tax increase, the black market for cigarettes gets a shot in the arm.  The committed addict will always find a way.

[Stewie]

Well, its a step in the right direction, albert a small one. But the addicted smoker will pay any price for his pack of cigarretes. Education should be the key, and possibly a ban on tobacco in the future.

[ChRiSpY]

Dayamm!!!!  $13 bucks for a pack of smokes.  Back in my hay day I could do 2 packs a day.....  that would be $182/week = sick!!!

[Stewie]

Dayamm!!!!  $13 bucks for a pack of smokes.  Back in my hay day I could do 2 packs a day.....  that would be $182/week = sick!!!

 

Yeah 13 bucks is pretty gangsta. Here you buy one pack for 4/5€, euro basically equal to dollar so...yeah, pretty steep alright.

[Reciprocity]

Where I live, a large pack was about $12.50/pack when I quit in January 2017 but I know they have gone up since then so not sure where they are at just now. I do know that in Australia they are unbelievably expensive - like double what you are talking about here. Still, people smoke there. Now, that's just nuts!! Can you imagine paying over $1.00/cigarette?

[Dee]

I think since the time my son was born they really did much more to educated kids. Is it enough who knows. We knew drugs were bad for you yet tried them anyway.  I was paying $12.50 when I was smoking. I know some older folks that tell me stories they quit when cigarettes  went to over a $1.00 that cracks me up. I do recall as a kid my mom would give me 65 cents to go to the candy store and buy her cigarettes she smoked kool back then. Now that seems crazy but it wasn't frowned upon 30+ years ago.

[Sirius]

Holy S**t!,  I could sell smokes out of the back of my car for....er, what I mean is, buying poison for that chunk of change is insane.  Just wow!

[PeaceTrain]

Holy S**t!,  I could sell smokes out of the back of my car for....er, what I mean is, buying poison for that chunk of change is insane.  Just wow!

Yes, the ATF Bureau is spending a lot more time on the T than they used to!

[sgt.barney]

Sarge's Pop used to say it was insane to pay $2 bucks a pack. "Back when I was your age, they were a quarter ..."

 

Of course, he's still buyin' 'em at nearly $6 bucks a day here locally.

 

Price doesn't matter to addicts.

 

 

E Z P Z

[Nancy]

Sarge's Pop used to say it was insane to pay $2 bucks a pack. "Back when I was your age, they were a quarter ..."

 

Of course, he's still buyin' 'em at nearly $6 bucks a day here locally.

 

Price doesn't matter to addicts.

 

 

E Z P Z

I remember my brother Jim saying he would quit when they hit $1.00 a pack.  He quit when they killed him.

[PeaceTrain]

I remember my brother Jim saying he would quit when they hit $1.00 a pack. He quit when they killed him.

That is so sad, Nancy and a wake-up call to any lurkers or folks on the fence about quitting. What a terrible deadly addiction it is. I'm sorry for your loss.

[Sirius]

That is so sad, Nancy and a wake-up call to any lurkers or folks on the fence about quitting. What a terrible deadly addiction it is. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

Terrible, deadly, and expensive addiction.

[Doreensfree]

Very sad Nancy...

I am so thankful every day..I found the strength to quit...have I left it too late..who knows...

But I have had 4 years rid of this horrible deadly addiction...x