Proposed Tobacco Taxes

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Jan 30, 2020
1,850
6,091
New Jersey
I’ve been done cellaring pipe tobacco for a long time now, however, this will still hurt me, I’m still very much a dipper. I already spend over $200 per month on it, I’ve got to give this shit up, not worth it anymore.

My father always told me that the tax on tobacco is bullshit. He gave an example of a single mother. Instead of giving up smoking, she’ll most likely continue to smoke, she’ll just have less money for her children. This rings very true today with my addiction.
Do you dip a can a day? I thought dip was like $6-$7 around here. That’s s lot in a month!
 

Briar Lee

Lifer
Sep 4, 2021
4,765
13,789
Humansville Missouri
I think the majority of everyone here has 3 lifetimes worth of tobacco stashed away, I don't know why this is a big deal having a tin go up a few dollars.
Because a package of Drum rolling tobacco (50grams) and Bugler cigarette tobacco is taxed now at $26 a pound and Captain Black at $2.88 a pound, and Gambler “pipe tobacco” is also.

What this tax will do, is equalize the cost of RYO tobacco and ALL pipe tobacco, with cigarettes on an equal basis. The cigarette tax goes up to $2 a pack. The Bugler cigarette tobacco tax and the Bugler “pipe tobacco” tax doubles to $50 a pound.

There’s about 1 gram of tobacco in a cigarette.

We use 3 to 5 grams to fill a pipe.

I’m sitting here ruminating about all this, and before me sits a $15 can of GL Pease Haddo’s Delight. Let’s say there are ten smokes in that can and that’s $1.50 a huge artisan pipe full.

Today the pipe tobacco tax is $2.88 a pound. That’s 18 cents an ounce, 36 cents a can.

The proposed tax is $50 a pound, $3.125 an ounce. Ouch!!!

Instead of 36 cents a can the tax will be $6.25 a can.

Time will tell how much putting a $3.125 an ounce tax on all pipe tobacco hurts the luxury brands, that already sell for about six or seven dollars an ounce.

But if that can of GL Pease was $25 I’d still buy it, and spend another dollar a smoke.

What it’s sure to hurt are the sales of Prince Albert at $3 for 1 1/2 ounces in those same liquor stores that carry pipe tobacco you request.

The working man with his Grabow might get ten smokes now at thirty cents a smoke.

Will he buy a ten dollar package of Prince Albert?

At that same store cheap cigarettes with a dollar federal tax a pack are $25.

He might buy a forty dollar carton of cigarettes instead, and spend four dollars a day to smoke a pack.

The worst part of the proposed tax is that it’s going to hurt pipe smokers who buy cheap OTC brands the most.
 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
Do you dip a can a day? I thought dip was like $6-$7 around here. That’s s lot in a month!
The cans are tiny! Yes though, I easily go through a can a day, usually 2 cans. It seems the more I try to quit, the more I dip. It’s getting to be just sad though, gonna have to go cold turkey. I’m the kind of guy that is all or nothing. If it were cheaper, I would have switched over to chewing but those pouches are about 12 bucks each now.
 
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warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Taxes only go up when they change. Retail prices usually only rise. While this is a problem for those with a static income, most can figure a way to meet rising costs. If not, luxuries,such as smoking, dining out, movies, imbibing and the like must be reduced. Too few people are willing to leave the comfort zone of friends, family and community in order to improve their income, easier to groan and complain. "Life's a bitch ... then you die" is the old bromide I firmly believe. "Adapt or die" is another. But, life can be enjoyable, in the main, if one simply makes the necessary adaptions.
 

mortonbriar

Lifer
Oct 25, 2013
2,653
5,664
New Zealand
Yawn, New Zealand smokers stressed out about these price increases in the 80s and 90s (before I was a smoker)...Subsequent annual increases at this point get a bit of a token whinge, but there has been no surprise for decades.

I have a bit of a cellar of commercial favourites and some whole leaf to smoke and I am starting a third year of growing my own. I intend to grow a small crop every year, just enough for a years smoke basically. I can let the bulk of my homegrown get some age on it while smoking through the tins etc.

Last year when they pushed through a bill to make it (essentially) illegal to import tobacco through the mail service, It took me a while to get my head around the fact that I am cut off from easy tobacco purchases but honestly I am quite enjoying working with the limitations imposed now...Thinking about what seed to try in the future to replicate certain blends/genres etc...
 
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