176 million pounds of cigarette butts are discarded each year in this country, but New York could become the first state to cut back on that waste, if a proposed recycling law wins approval in Albany. Assemblyman Michael G. DenDekker is pushing a bill that would create a statewide cigarette butt recycling program. He tells City Room, "There are two reasons to do it. One is to create jobs, the other is to clean our environment a little." But a butt-free environment doesn't come cheap. more ›

The NYC Department of Health has taken an aggressive approach to promoting the benefits of not smoking. This week, it focused on how a pack of cigarettes will now cost over $9, thanks to a federal excise tax, and offered free nicotine patches for the day to help encourage smokers to break the habit. more ›

But it might make them poor! Today, NY State has introduced an additional $1.25 tax--for a total $2.75 NY State tax--on cigarettes, which means a pack of smokes is likely to cost between $8.00 to $8.50 in NYC (NYC has a $1.25 tax). NY1 got some comments from smokers on the streets:

"Wow, it's a lot of money," said one smoker. "Probably not enough to make me quit. I don't know how much it will take to make me quit." more ›