The price of cigarettes rose by 61.6 cents when legislation signed by President Barack Obama took effect April 1. The bill, which is part of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIRPA), increased the federal tax on cigarettes, making it just over $1.

But two weeks in, storeowners have yet to see a decrease in cigarette sales, even though some student smokers say they aren’t happy.

Maurice Krohl, owner of Student Choice Market on Marshall Street, said the number of students coming in to buy cigarettes has remained stable.

‘There has just been a lot of whining and complaining,’ Krohl said. ‘And some people have been saying they’re going to quit.’

The raised federal tax, coupled with the New York state tax on cigarettes – the second highest in the nation – has smokers in New York paying more than $3 in taxes per pack of cigarettes.

The new tax is expected to help 41,300 adults quit smoking, according to the American Lung Association of New York.

But instead of quitting, some students are changing their buying habits and finding creative ways to save money. Mo Althour, an employee at Graby’s convenience store on the corner of Euclid Avenue and Westcott Street, said some students are buying cheaper cigarettes. Native American reservations have less expensive cigarettes, said Gina Keicher, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Some students roll their own cigarettes to cut back on costs. A set of papers and tobacco that makes 40 cigarettes can be purchased for as cheap as $3, said Amelia Lockwood, a freshman in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

‘I think rolling cigarettes will become more popular with the price increase,’ Lockwood said. ‘I’ve always done it, but I do even more since the price went up.’

While some smokers dislike and complain about the increased tax, they have different opinions about whether the tax will actually make people quit.

‘I think it will result in people quitting,’ Keicher said. ‘Especially because we’re in a recession, vices kind of take a back seat.’

Chloe Dinga, a junior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, also said she thinks money will eventually be the main motivation for people to quit.

‘How high you’ll let it go depends on how addicted you are,’ said Natia Kolotashvili, a freshman in the College of Human Ecology. ‘For me, if it gets to over $10, that’s when I would say, ‘This is it.”

In addition to a tax increase, the Onondaga County Legislature enacted the ‘Tobacco 19’ law in March to discourage youth smoking. The law raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 19. Nassau County and Suffolk County also have similar laws in place. While advocates say the law is targeted to prevent high school students from smoking, it has become an extra burden for 18-year-old students who can no longer purchase cigarettes.

‘These students are pissed,’ Althour said. ‘They’ve been waiting a long time to be able to buy cigarettes, and now they have to wait another year.’

But raising the legal age and raising taxes may not dissuade smokers.

‘Cigarettes have inelastic demand,’ Dinga said. ‘People will probably keep smoking, no matter how high the price gets.’

kronayne@syr.edu

Published on April 14, 2009 at 12:00 pm