Fifty-something years ago, when I first started smoking, my brand of cigarettes (Chesterfield Kings) were 19¢ a pack. Filtered brands were 21¢. For those days when I was short on cash, the local 7-11 charged 6¢ for a sack of Bull Durham tobacco that came complete with rolling papers.
Today, prices vary quite a lot, but the average cost cost of a pack of smokes in Texas is about $6.00. They’re cheaper in Louisiana and cost a whole lot more in states like California and New York
Of course, inflation plays a part, but the big difference is the amount of State and Federal tax that has been added over the years. The chart below, provided by a pro-smoking, anti-tax organization shows that taxes make up the majority of the price:
Most of this money grab has been justified by the idea that increasing the cost will force a decrease in consumers. Folks like the Heart Association, the Lung Association and people who just don't like smoke or smokers would love to see the taxes much higher.
Although I’m living proof that this method of control is not effective – I complain more, but I do not smoke less – I can’t fault them for their good intentions.
What really ticks me off is not the outrageous tax, but the fact that when the retailer rings the cigarettes up, he charges state sales tax on the entire cost – including the tax I’ve already paid. That, in my mind is obscene!
With 8.25% sales tax, a $6.00 pack of cigarettes now costs $6.50. Even worse, it forces me to pay 38¢ in sales tax on the Federal and State taxes that I’m already paying!
Section 151.303 of the Texas Tax Code exempts from sales tax the purchase of previously taxed items. It specifically lists things like oil, sulphur, motor fuels, alcoholic beverages served in bars and cement. It even exempts natural gas when it is being used as motor fuel, but does it exempt tobacco products? Hell no!
Forcing a consumer to pay tax on a tax is an unconscionable process.
It is immoral.
It is evil.
It ought to be against the law!
I guess I have side stepped this situation when I was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003. I had my first cigarette when I was 14 years old and my last cigarette at 56. Quitting two weeks before my scheduled surgery, I smoked all the way up till midnight and put it out. We have 5 sections of our lungs, 2 on our left and 3 on our right. I had the top section of my right lung removed.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the service, I could buy cigarettes for 12 cents a pack and joked that I could not afford not to smoke. I am 65 years old now and have saved a ton of money over the last 9 years since I was smoking 2 and sometimes 3 packs a day.
I have said jokingly the cancer cures smoking. Quitting is not easy at all. I had quit twice before, once for 3 years and the second time for 1 year and I will be the last person to berate a smoker for smoking. People say the stupidest things to smokers to try to get them to quit. No amount of nagging will help smokers to make them stop smoking. It is a personal decision that must be reached and made independent of friends and family. I commiserate with those that struggle with it, including my 30 year old son.
A month ago, I asked my doctor about a lump in my stomach, a hernia. I had a hernia operation back in 1981 and thought I knew what this was. I was first sent for a colonoscopy and a c-t scan. I came back shortly and listened to the doctor tell me that they saw a lump on my lower right lung. I was sent for a p-t scan and am now waiting for the results. My wife was with me when the doctor told me. It happened to be our wedding anniversary. She had already lost her first husband due to heart disease and now she was going to have to see how this was going to turn out. Her last ordeal lasted over a period of 9 years.
All I can say is the money saved is not the point for me and it never was. A smoker will bum smokes, give in and buy them, or find the money by not eating or some other way. I did when I put myself though college. The point is now that so many things in my life are damn near perfect; it all might come to an end too soon.
We all must bear the responsibility for our life’s decisions. It’s not about the cost or the taxes. It’s because quitting requires a decision and a commitment, and courage. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Love your life and your friends and family. They love you.
I did not quit, I stopped smoking. It’s a little easier think of it this way.