Cigarettes at $10 light up emotions
TROY — Adriene Russo of Guilderland threw her arms in the air and cheered “Let them go up as far as they can!”
Russo was talking about the state tax on cigarettes, which will rise $1.60 today making new York the most expensive state in which to buy a pack of cigarettes. Russo, a nonsmoker, lost her father to smoking-related emphysema and heart disease.
But around the corner with cigarettes burning in each hand — one of the smoke belonged to a friend — Renee Macaulay of Glenville was, well, fuming.
“I think this is ridiculous,” said Macaulay, an auto insurance broker. “It’s unaffordable. Everything in new York state is unaffordable.”
At first, Macaulay said she’d try to quit. then she admitted she probably wouldn’t.
Today’s increase brings new York’s cut on a sale of a pack of cigarettes to $4.35. A pack will now cost between $8 and $10 and buyers of premium brand cigarettes will pay over $100 for a carton of 10. The new tax — along with collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by new York American Indians — will raise an additional $440 million for the cash-strapped state.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 120,000 new Yorkers will stop smoking as a result of the increase, said Russ Sciandra, a tobacco policy specialist. according to studies on cigarette consumption, an increase of 10 percent in the price of a pack causes a 2 percent decline in the number of smokers, he said. Overall, consumption drops 4 percent because some people continue to smoke, but light up less.
New York has consistently had one of the highest cigarette taxes in the nation.
“Guess what? The smoking rate in new York has been going down faster than the rest of the country,” Sciandra said.
Still, about 18 percent — or 2.5 million — of adult new Yorkers smoke.
“I have to quit,” said Eric Cioffi, an architectural draftsman from Kinderhook.
He’s been smoking for 10 years and has lost two family members to smoking-related cancers. he tried quitting three months ago using an electronic cigarette, but it didn’t stick.
“Now that the tax is going up, I’ll have to try again,” Cioffi said.
Cedric Mills, a maintenance worker from Lansingburgh, said he’s cut back on cocktails in order to keep up his nicotine habit.
“I can afford $7, but $10?” Mills said. “If it goes up to $10, I’ll quit.”
Dave Hansen of Wynantskill said smokers are an easy target.
“We are taking the tax burden. Why are they singling out one sector?” asked Hansen, who coordinates a nutrition program for seniors in Rensselaer County. “I know it’s a disgusting, nasty habit, but we are not vermin.”
Sciandra said there is little political damage for legislators who support the tax.
“Smokers are a minority and they are shrinking,” he said.
Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at 454-5348 or .
Help for quitting
New York state offers several resources for smokers trying to quit. For information, contact 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) or nysmokefree.com, which both offer free nicotine replacement drugs. Also, a national initiative at BecomeAnEX.org provides a customized plan for quitting.
<a href="http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=946714&category=RENSSELAERtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=946714″>Cigarettes at $10 light up emotions