Wisconsin cigarettes light up the cash register
Along I-94 in Hudson, the Freedom gas station is a convenient stop for many. Ron Campbell has been the manager for 20 years.
Tuesday morning, he saw his regular customers, but many of them passed on their regular purchase.
“The customer came in and asked if we already changed prices. I said we didn’t have a choice at midnight…he said ok, thank you and he left,” says Ron.
Ron’s employees have been changing prices all day.
As of midnight, a new state tobacco tax kicked in and buying a pack of cigarettes in Wisconsin became 75 cents more expensive. The tax also applies to other tobacco products.
For example, a pack of Marlboro’s at the Freedom gas station now costs $6.59. Before midnight, that same pack cost $5.79. Prices vary by brand, but the most expensive cigarettes at Freedom now cost $7.70 per pack.
Ron is concerned about what that will mean for business, especially for a border store where people can buy cigarettes for less in Minnesota.
“It will have a big impact for us, both inside sales and outside sales…just people travelling through,” says Ron.
But the higher tax is a big victory for anti-smoking advocates with a goal to outprice young people out of the cigarette market.
The principle is – if they can’t afford them, they won’t smoke them.
“For every 10 percent increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes, we see a 7 percent decrease in youth smoking,” says Bob Moffitt with the American Lung Association. “They are very susceptible to price changes, especially sudden price changes like this tax.”
Back at the Freedom station, Trudy Greer says she spends about 50 bucks a week on cigarettes. The new tax means paying about six dollars more.
It’s incentive for some.
“I should quit just knowing that it is going to cost more,” says Trudy.
But it’s not incentive for others.
“Until they get to ten dollars a pack, then I’ll quit,” says Bob Muhlankord who buys about five packs of cigarettes a week.
The increased tobacco tax is part one of new legislation. Next July, Wisconsin goes smoke free in bars and restaurants.
The new tobacco tax is expected to generate about $335 million in revenue over the next two years for the state of Wisconsin.
© 2 Sept, 2009 Kare
