Cigarette Tax Jumps Tomorrow, Free Nicotine Patches in NYC

Start hoarding or start quitting: Tomorrow, New York City smokers will cough up at least $9 per pack for even the cheapest generic "Victory" cigarettes. The 62-cent federal excise tax increase goes into effect at midnight, pushing the cost for pack-a-day smokers to more than $250 a month. The Health Department expects the price hike will motivate as many as 20,000 New Yorkers to quit, and officials are ready to capitalize on the sticker shock tomorrow by distributing free nicotine patches. [Here's a pdf of the locations.] NYC cigarettes became the most expensive in the nation last June, when New York State’s
cigarette tax rose by $1.25 per pack (from $1.50 to $2.75). The Health Department says the price hike resulted in more than 2,700 calls to 311 for help to quit over the course of one week—three times the number of calls during the same period in the prior year. 300,000 fewer adult New Yorkers smoke than in 2002, which is partially due to price hikes, indoor smoking bans, and the growing realization that tracheotomies aren't so cool.