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Smokers Face Decision: Quit Or Cough Up

Tribune photo by LAURA FRAZIER

Tobacco Depot manager Santiago Carrasco, right, rings up a cigar purchase at the Bloomingdale Avenue store in Valrico for customer David Carty, who said of the federal excise tax on cigarettes that goes into effect April 1, "Basically, the government is forcing the public not to smoke."

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By LAURA FRAZIER lfrazier@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 25, 2009

VALRICO - The federal excise tax increase on tobacco won't go into effect until next week. But throughout much of March, employees at Fred Hoyland's chain of 16 local Tobacco Depot stores scrambled to post new prices for some brands of cigars, cigarettes and tobaccos.

Hoyland said cigarette makers Phillip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. raised their product prices weeks before the 62-cent tax hike was set to go into effect April 1 to boost revenue and head off a last minute run by consumers eager to stock up on cheap smokes.

"They did it to keep the market and inventory stable," Hoyland said.

At Tobacco Depot in Bloomingdale Square last week, store manager Santiago Carrasco changed price signs for the second time this month.

Patrons plunked down $5.29 for marked-up packs of Virginia Slims, $37.15 for a carton of Marlboros and $55.69 for a carton of More 120s. Carrasco said the most costly cigarettes he carries - those made with a blend of tobacco and cloves - now sell for $70.15 a carton.

"Clove cigarettes are ridiculously expensive, but they are very popular," he said. "People come in looking for them, particularly on the weekends."

The federal tax increase, combined with new wholesaler and retailer markups, will result in prices that vary among retailers. After April 1, most premium brands will sell for more than $5 a pack and $50 a carton - before sales tax, which is another hot issue. The Florida Legislature is considering raising the 33.9 cent sales tax by as much as $1 a pack.

Hoyland balked at legislators who in recent weeks referred to the proposed sales tax increase as a "user fee."

"Be honest with the public and call it what it is," he said. "I think it's insane on the state's part to be adding another tax on top of the federal increase. There's already more tax on one pack of cigarettes than there is on 10 six-packs of beer."

When gas prices soared last summer, Carrasco said, fourth-tier cigarettes - the most economically-priced budget brands one step below generics - became best-sellers.

"The maddening thing is that cigarettes like Golden Bay and Smokin Joes have become so popular that I can't get them in," Carrasco said. "They're so hot that I'm now missing sales because I don't have enough product to meet the demand."

Most of his customers who buy the cheap smokes, he said, are low-income people already struggling to buy the least expensive products. He expects to see more than a few give up the habit because they just can't afford it anymore.

Many customers in recent weeks have told Carrasco, "I guess it's time to quit," even as they paid for their purchases.

One man came to the store about a week ago got out his wallet to pay ... but took pause when Carrasco told him the new price.

"He said, 'Nope, I'm gonna quit.' Then he put his wallet back in his pocket and walked out, just like that."

He said he thinks most cigar smokers will find it easier to adjust to the price hike because cigars, generally speaking, are used less frequently, and the addiction is not as strong.

John Burbridge of Valrico said he loves smoking cigars, and the increase - 55 cents a stick - won't impact him much.

"If Obama wants to raise taxes a little on little luxuries, I can live with that," Burbridge said.

David Carty, a cigar smoker who used to sell cigarettes for a living, said he smoked two packs of cigarettes a day until two years ago. He still lights up "here and there" but is considering giving it up for good.

"Every year, there are one or two market increases, but this is ridiculous," he said. "I won't pay six or seven dollars for a pack of cigarettes."

His intention to give up cigarettes is not all about the money. He grew up in a tobacco farming family in North Carolina.

"The whole family, everyone except my dad, they all smoked," he said. His grandfather died of lung cancer and both grandmothers had emphysema.

"I love smoking, but let's face it, there is no mystery. I know it's bad for me," he said. Still, he said, "People should have the choice. Basically the government is forcing the public not to smoke."

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.

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