Tobacco tax increase forces spending readjustments for some UA students
Nick DeMoss
Issue date: 4/13/09 Section: News
A 62-cent a pack increase on cigarette taxes has some UA students struggling to keep up with their addiction.
The 62-cent federal tax that began earlier this month is in addition to the 56-cent tax passed by Gov. Mike Beebe in mid-March, leaving Arkansans paying a $1.15 tax on each pack of cigarettes they buy.
The federal government grants a 3-cent price break to business owners for tax implementation costs, but for some students, the financial burden is becoming too much - though they haven't quit smoking.
"It's just too much. I can't pay for it because I don't have a job," sophomore Mallory Scheurer said. "Right now, I'm just bumming, and it's bad."
Borrowing cigarettes from other students is an increasing phenomenon on campus, freshman Tory Cottingham said.
Cottingham spends about $40 a month on cigarettes, smoking about a pack a week. Though he hasn't had trouble buying cigarettes, he has had to make compromises.
"I've had to move down to cheaper, grosser cigarettes," he said. "Even those cost $4 or $5 a pack. They used to be $2 or $3."
For junior Sarah Gibbs, the tax increase this month has forced her to make some lifestyle changes.
"Let's just say I don't spend money on anything except cigarettes and Taco Bell," she said.
Gibbs smokes a pack a day and spends $55 a week to keep up with her habit. Until the tax increase this month, Gibbs also had been supporting two other people's habits, but now she can only keep up with her own, she said.
Sales in Arkansas are expected to take a hit, state tax official Gary Williams said.
"It's going to be a few months before we can tell any kind of trend, but there's no doubt our sales are going down some," he said.
The Tobacco Shop on West Township Street in Fayetteville has already experienced some of the effects. Being a specialty store, the Tobacco Shop only carries tobacco, and customers roll their own cigarettes. To save money, the Shop has decreased its stock of cigarette tobacco.
The 62-cent federal tax that began earlier this month is in addition to the 56-cent tax passed by Gov. Mike Beebe in mid-March, leaving Arkansans paying a $1.15 tax on each pack of cigarettes they buy.
The federal government grants a 3-cent price break to business owners for tax implementation costs, but for some students, the financial burden is becoming too much - though they haven't quit smoking.
"It's just too much. I can't pay for it because I don't have a job," sophomore Mallory Scheurer said. "Right now, I'm just bumming, and it's bad."
Borrowing cigarettes from other students is an increasing phenomenon on campus, freshman Tory Cottingham said.
Cottingham spends about $40 a month on cigarettes, smoking about a pack a week. Though he hasn't had trouble buying cigarettes, he has had to make compromises.
"I've had to move down to cheaper, grosser cigarettes," he said. "Even those cost $4 or $5 a pack. They used to be $2 or $3."
For junior Sarah Gibbs, the tax increase this month has forced her to make some lifestyle changes.
"Let's just say I don't spend money on anything except cigarettes and Taco Bell," she said.
Gibbs smokes a pack a day and spends $55 a week to keep up with her habit. Until the tax increase this month, Gibbs also had been supporting two other people's habits, but now she can only keep up with her own, she said.
Sales in Arkansas are expected to take a hit, state tax official Gary Williams said.
"It's going to be a few months before we can tell any kind of trend, but there's no doubt our sales are going down some," he said.
The Tobacco Shop on West Township Street in Fayetteville has already experienced some of the effects. Being a specialty store, the Tobacco Shop only carries tobacco, and customers roll their own cigarettes. To save money, the Shop has decreased its stock of cigarette tobacco.
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Nerdovision
posted 4/13/09 @ 9:08 AM CST
Its hard to argue this one, I mean smoking does kill a lot of folks and on the other hand I am a big fan of freedom. Perhaps smokers should switch to those new electronic cigarettes like the ones at www. (Continued…)
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