A little bit off on a tangent, but:
I live in Florida, and there was an item on this morning's news that cigarette sales were down 25% from this time last year. This after their $1 a pack tax increase a few months ago. The staties are waving their arms in the air and going "whoo-hoo!".
In the article, the reporter stated that they believed smokers were now flocking to Georgia for their smokes, since, presumably, the taxes are lower there.
Are you kidding me? I live near Orlando, and I'm damn sure not driving 5 hours for cigarettes! My guess is that most folks are 1) quitting (we'll see how that works out in 6 months; 2) buying from the reservations; 3) switching to the dirt-cheapest generics they can find; or 4) going to e cigs.
I do believe that option 4 is right now the minority, but I don't think that will be the case in another 6 or 12 months. I know many smokers who are sick and tired of being taxed at this rate, even if they couldn't care a whit about health issues.
I recently did the math, and so far, I've spent about $100 more on e cig supplies than I would have on
tobacco (this after 2 months). I currently have enough supplies to last at least 3 months if I didn't buy another thing. If I subtract the recent FL tax, I would break even right now.
Anyone who thinks this whole issue isn't profit-driven is kidding himself.