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As of 2024, the Northeast United States lead the nation in tax rates on cigarettes. New York was the overall leader, imposing a **** dollars tax per pack of cigarettes. The District of Columbia and Connecticut followed suit, tacking on **** and **** dollars of tax per pack of cigarettes sold respectively. In 2019, New York received over * billion U.S. dollars from tobacco tax revenue and tobacco legal settlement payments.

The relationship between taxes and smoking rates

States, like New York and Connecticut, use tax on cigarettes as a means to curb smoking among citizens. There is a clear inverse relationship between the price of a pack and cigarettes sales. Since prices have risen across the nation since the mid 1990’s, due mostly to tax increases, cigarette sales have drastically declined. According to the CDC, smoking increases one’s chance of developing lung cancer by ** times, cardiovascular disease by * times, and death from a chronic obstructive lung disease by ** times. Improving the lives of its citizens and reducing the burden on the health care system both factor into states’ desires to curb smoking.

States that have some of the lowest taxes on cigarettes, like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Arkansas, tend to have the highest smoking rates in the country. Comparing Missouri, the state with the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation, with New York, the trend is obvious. Roughly ** percent of Missouri’s population are smokers compared to **** percent of New York’s. While cigarette sales have declined due to taxes, health authorities are concerned about the rise of vaping and electronic cigarettes. E-cigarettes are often seen as a safer alternative to smoking and are currently the most used tobacco product by high school students.