The price of cigarettes could be going up soon.
If approved as suggested, it would increase the levy by $1 per pack of cigarettes in the next budget. The call came from a group of anti-tobacco and public health organizations.
It would be the first tax levy hike on these products in a decade.
“Increasing the tax on tobacco products is a no-brainer,” said American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Senior New York Government Relations Director Julie Hart to Spectrum News. “A tobacco tax increase is a win-win-win. It will incentive smokers to quit, reduce healthcare costs and generate revenue the state desperately needs for public health programs.”
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