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Tax raise gives Maryland smokers added incentive to kick the habit
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(Jon Clements/For The Examiner)
Jason Carpenski, 20 from Brooklyn, smokes a cigarette while waiting for his food to arrive at The Phoenix in Ellicott City, Md. The state tax on cigarettes is increasing from $1 to $2 per pack Tuesday. Maryland smokers who make New Year’s resolutions to kick the habit will have more incentive to do so. The state tax on cigarettes is increasing from $1 to $2 per pack Tuesday, bringing the average cost of a pack in Maryland up to $5.58, outpacing Virginia and the District of Columbia by at least $0.94. Shops bordering the state’s line with the District 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 on New Hampshire Avenue in Takoma Park. The regular price for a pack of Marlboros at the shop ran $4.97 on Friday. On Tuesday, that cost will spike to $6.35, he said. Nationally, the price per pack of cigarettes is expected to hit $4.63 on Tuesday, said Vince Willmore, vice president for communications for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. In D.C., the average is expected to be $4.64. In Virginia, smokers will pay an average $3.84 per pack. “I wouldn’t say it’s the death knell, but it would be reduced revenue,” Allan Weisfield, a manager at Talberts, on River Road in Bethesda, said. Maryland’s 100 percent increase in its per-pack price will rank the state the fourth highest in the nation for its cigarette tax. D.C. is ranked No. 26 and Virginia is ranked No. 47, according to the campaign. Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative, called the increase “a good public health initiative.” The group waged a three-year fight to increase the tax, which DeMarco predicts will help deter as many as 50,000 children from becoming smokers. Money raised by the tax will go toward expanding health care to as many as 100,000 uninsured state residents, DeMarco said. Even so, Ayele Tesefaye, an assistant manager of a 7-Eleven on Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, is expecting a pinch. Customers haven’t complained about the increasing tax yet, but Tesefaye said he suspects that’s because many smokers aren’t fully aware of what’s to come. “They’re going to complain on January 1 or January 2 when they find out,” he said. Cigarette taxes » Maryland: $2 (fourth highest in U.S.) » District of Columbia: $1 (26th highest in U.S.) » Virginia: 30 cents (47th highest in U.S.) cmabeus@dcexaminer.com |
