With smokers in Maryland coughing up an additional $1 in cigarette taxes starting today, some stocked up on extra packs, vowed to buy cartons online, travel out-of-state, smoke less or quit all together.

“Another dollar? They’re making a killing off cigarettes,” said Kelly Wilson, a Baltimore resident and smoker of 35 years, as he exhaled a cloud of tobacco smoke.

His friend Calvin Brown promised to cut back or switch to a cheaper brand to deal with the tax increase, which will raise the average cost of a pack in Maryland to $5.58.

The 100 percent increase to $2 a pack makes Maryland the fourth-highest in the nation and the most expensive among neighboring locations.

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Pennsylvania charges $1.35, Delaware $1.15, D.C. $1, West Virginia 55 cents and Virginia 30 cents, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Shops bordering the state’s line with the District, Pennsylvania and Delaware are bracing for a reduction in sales.

“Sales are going to drop all over Maryland, I’m sure,” said Ragu Nanthan, an employee at TJ Beer Wine and Liquors in Takoma Park.

Residents who bring more than two packs of cigarettes into the state without paying state tax risk being charged with a misdemeanor offense, subject to a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.

Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative, described the increase as a public health initiative that could save lives.

The group waged a three-year fight to increase the tax, which DeMarco predicts will help deter 50,000 children from becoming smokers.

Money raised by the tax will fund health care to as many as 100,000 uninsured residents.

As the countdown to a new year and higher cigarette prices drew near, smokers throughout the Baltimore region bought extra packs.

Employees at a 7-Eleven in Columbia marveled at selling 21 cartons in eight hours.

Cecilia Benalcazar, an employee of Mini Mart in Annapolis, predicted that customers would continue to buy as they always have. “...That’s just pennies more when it comes to an addiction,” she said.

Top cigarette taxes

» New Jersey: $2.58

» Rhode Island: $2.46

» Washington state: $2.025

» Maryland: $2

» Maine: $2

» Alaska: $2

» Arizona: $2

» Connecticut: $2

Examiner Staff Writers Carolyn Peirce and Courtney Mabeus contributed to this story.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com