To the Editor:

The two most important reasons for increasing the state excise tax on cigarettes from $1.50 to $2.75 a pack last June were (1) to deter youth from starting to smoke (price is a proven barrier to youth smoking), and (2) to give smokers who want to quit an extra cost incentive to do so (the state pays out far more to treat smoking-caused illness than it takes in through cigarette taxes.) So a few weeks ago it was particularly distressing to see a local retailer with half-a-dozen big signs promoting a product, which from the picture, looks a lot like a pack of filtered cigarettes at a cost that’s less than half the state tax alone! Isn’t this illegal?

Well, it turns out the insanely low price is not illegal. That’s because, though they look like cigarettes, smoke like cigarettes, are addictive like cigarettes and kill like cigarettes, they are in fact, “Little Cigars.” And in New York State, little cigars are not subject to the tax and pricing laws that govern the sale of cigarettes.

If we are going to beat the social and financial toll we all pay due to smoking and tobacco addiction, we must speak out now to reduce such excessive promotion of smoking and tobacco use, and to support a community that encourages a tobacco-free lifestyle. With health care costs climbing ever higher, we cannot afford another generation of tobacco addiction.

Ted Schiele
Coordinator, Tobacco Free Tompkins
Tompkins County Health Department
Ithaca