Smokers Stock Up Before Tax Increase
By: Danielle Todesco
Updated: March 30, 2009
Smokers are stocking up on tobacco just days before a tax increase.
Nothin' Butt Smokes has been slammed with business, people stocking up on cartons and roll-your-own tobacco. This Wednesday, the price on a pack of cigarettes goes up 61 cents, and managers at the store say roll-your-own will go up more than twenty bucks a bag. Now, some smokers tell us they're thinking about quitting, which is part of the government's plan.
Michele Casanova, Manager of Nothin' Butt Smokes:
"They're trying to stock up because the price goes up on Wednesday so now they're trying to capture the lowest price possible because a little five dollar bag of tobacco is going to run about 25 to 30 dollars."
Doris Conorino, Smoker:
"It's either that or the patch because you know, I just can't pay no 50 or 60 dollars a carton."
This increase was signed into law in February to provide funding for President Obama's child healthcare program.
