$10 A PACK! NOW THAT'S A DRAG

$10 A PACK! NOW THAT'S A DRAG

By CYNTHIA R. FAGEN

February 8, 2009 --

If this doesn't make you quit, nothing will.

With a new 62 cent federal tax on cigarettes added this week with the passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program law, the new price of a pack of cigarettes will soar past $10 in Manhattan.

The NYC price is higher than anywhere in the country and more than twice the national average. And beginning April 1, two-thirds of that cost will be made up of city, state and federal taxes.

Of course, even if you can afford to buy a pack, where would you smoke it?

Michael Seilback of the American Lung Association of New York state, says the added costs are a good thing, and may help cut down on the 35,000 smoking-related deaths in the state every year, and some $1.7 billion in future health costs.

On the other hand, the taxes could be so effective that everyone quits, and there's no money for state, federal and city health programs.[NYP]