New York City Jacks Price of Cigarettes to $13 Per Pack

The higher minimum price for cigarettes will take effect on June 1, making the city home to the highest cigarette prices in the United States.

August 30, 2017

NEW YORK CITY – Come June 1, 2018, the price of a pack of cigarettes will jump to at least $13 in New York City, the highest price for cigarettes in the nation, ABC News/The Associated Press reports. Right now, New Yorkers have a minimum per price pack of $10.50 for cigarettes.

The new minimum price for cigarettes and little cigars is one of several new anti-tobacco laws Mayor Bill de Blasio signed this week. “We are sending a loud and clear message that we will not let [corporate] greed kill any more New Yorkers without a fight,” he said. “These new laws will not only help reduce the number of smokers in our city, but also save lives.”

Other tobacco measures include limiting tobacco retail licenses to reduce the number of stores selling cigarettes (although no current tobacco retailer will lose their license), creating a license for selling electronic cigarettes, increasing the cigarette license fee, and prohibiting pharmacies and drug stores from selling tobacco products.

“These measures will destroy the business investment of retailers who have been leading the effort to prevent youth access to tobacco products, and the result will be lost revenue, lost jobs and an increasing number of sales in unregulated and illegal settings,” said Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores.

RAI Services Company, a subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc., expression concern on the impact of these new laws. “However, there should be concern that this ordinance will most likely only further exacerbate the illicit trade of cigarettes in New York City, which already has the highest percentage of contraband cigarettes in the country,” spokeswoman Brittany Adams pointed out.

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