Cigarette Prices in New York

Here you will find a overview of all cigarette prices for New York. The cheapest cigarette can be found on the top of the cigarette brands list.

Cigarette Brands	Prices
American Legend	$              1.861
American Legend White	$              1.861
Benson & Hedges light gold	$              3.215
Benson & Hedges Filter King	$              3.808
BN	$              2.877
Camel Blue	$              2.708
Camel Filters	$              2.708
Camel King Size	$              2.708
Camel Orange	$              2.708
Camel Silver	$              2.708
Camel Light/ Blue	$              2.877
Captain black Dark Crema	$              2.961
Captain black Little cigars	$              2.961
Davidoff Light	$              2.792
Davidoff Menthol	$              2.792
Davidoff White	$              2.792
Davidoff Classic Slims	$              2.792
Davidoff Classic	$              2.792
Davidoff Light/ Gold	$              2.792
Davidoff Gold light Slims	$              2.792
Davidoff Superslims white	$              2.961
Davidoff Magnum Gold	$              4.062
Davidoff Magnum King Size	$              4.062
Ducados Filtro	$              2.623
Ducados Rubio	$              3.300
Dunhill Blue/ Light King Size	$              3.215
Dunhill Red King Size	$              3.215
Dunhill Fine Cut Blue	$              3.385
Dunhill Fine Cut Silver	$              3.385
Dunhill Fine Cut Menthols	$              3.385
Dunhill International	$              3.723
Fortuna Soft	$              1.692
Fortuna Red	$              2.030
Fortuna Blue	$              2.200
Fortuna Menthol	$              3.300
Gauloises Blondes Blue	$              2.284
Gauloises Blondes Ultra Yellow	$              2.284
Gauloises  Brunes Non Filter	$              2.284
Gauloises Blondes Red	$              2.538
GB Silver	$              2.030
Gitanes Blunes Filter	$              2.284
Gitanes Blunes Non Filter	$              2.284
Gitanes Legeres Blondes	$              2.623
Glamour Blossom Aroma	$              2.708
Golden State King Size	$              1.861
John Player Special King Size	$              3.215
Karelia White	$              2.030
Karelia King Size	$              2.030
Karelia Light/ Blue	$              2.030
Karelia Ome Superslims	$              2.200
Karelia Ome Superslims Yellow	$              2.200
Karelia Blue Slims	$              2.284
Karelia Slim Party	$              2.284
Karelia Cream Slims	$              2.284
Karelia Ome Menthol	$              2.369
Karelia Slims	$              2.369
George Karelia & Son S.Virginia	$              2.538
George Karelia & Son Smother	$              2.454
Kent Silver Neo King	$              2.961
Kent White Infina King Size	$              2.961
Kent King Size Rounded pack	$              3.215
Kent Nanotek	$              3.215
Kent Silver Neo 100's	$              3.215
Kent Blue Futura	$              3.215
Kent King Size	$              3.215
Kent Nanotek Neo	$              3.639
Kent Deluxe 100's	$              3.808
Lambert & Butler	$              2.454
Lambert & Butler Gold	$              2.454
Lambert & Butler Menthol	$              3.892
L&M Red	$              2.623
L&M Light/ Blue	$              2.708
Lucky Strike Red King Box	$              2.877
Lucky Strike Blue/ Silver	$              2.877
Marlboro Red King Size	$              2.792
Marlboro Light/ Gold	$              3.639
Marlboro menthol	$              3.639
Mayfair Blue	$              2.792
Mild Seven Blue	$              2.538
Monte Carlo Light King Size	$              1.946
Monte Carlo King Size	$              1.946
More International 120's	$              2.708
More International Menthol	$              2.708
Nat Sherman's MCD Luxury	$              2.369
Nat Sherman's Black & Gold	$              2.623
Newport King Size	$              3.385
Pall Mall Blue light	$              2.961
Pall Mall Blue light Smooth taste	$              2.961
Pall Mall classic	$              2.961
Parliament Silver King	$              3.723
Parliament Super Slims	$              3.723
Parliament Silver Full Flavor	$              3.723
Parliament Silver Light/ Blue	$              3.723
Parliament Silver 100's Soft	$              3.723
Parliament light/ Blue 100's	$              3.723
Peter Stuyvesant King Size	$              3.215
R1 Red King Size	$              2.369
R1 Blue Cigarettes	$              2.538
Raquel Slims Menthol	$              2.200
Raguel Slims Blue	$              2.284
Regal King Size	$              2.623
Richmond King Size	$              2.623
Rothmans King Size	$              3.215
Rothmans International	$              3.385
Rothmans Royal 120's	$              3.385
Royal Club Blue King Size	$              1.946
Royal Club Full Red King Size	$              1.946
Royal Club Red King Size	$              1.946
Salem Menthol King Size	$              3.808
Silk Cut Silver	$              3.215
Silk cut Purple	$              3.554
Sobranie Cocktail 100's	$              3.385
Viceroy King size Filter	$              2.538
Vogue Arome	$              3.469
Vogue Lilas Superslim	$              3.469
Vogue Blue Superslim	$              3.469
Vogue Menthol Superslim	$              3.469
Wallstreet Orginal	$              2.200
West Red King Size	$              2.284
West Silver/ Light	$              2.284
Winston Filter Soft	$              2.369
Winston Blue Superslim	$              2.454
Winston Blue King Size	$              2.538

Smokeless tobacco

Smokeless tobacco accounts for a significant and growing portion of global tobacco use, especially in South Asia. Over 25 distinct types of smokeless tobacco products are used worldwide, including both commercialized and local or homegrown products, used orally and nasally. Some products combine tobacco with substantial amounts of chemical additives and other plant material that may confer additional risk to the user. Moreover, smokeless tobacco products contain many of the toxins and carcinogens found in cigarettes, and thus result in many of the same diseases caused by smoking. In addition, smokeless tobacco use increases periodontal disease, tooth loss, and precancerous mouth lesions.
Despite the harm from smokeless tobacco use to both individuals and society at large, these products are not sufficiently regulated in many countries. The landscape of smokeless tobacco manufacturing and marketing is rapidly evolving. The largest American, British, and Japanese cigarette companies have entered the smokeless tobacco market and are branding their smokeless products as an extension of cigarette brands,a complement to be used in smoke-free environments. Understanding this “dual-use” consumption pattern will be essential to developing an appropriate regulatory structure for smokeless tobacco.

Global patterns of smokeless tobacco use vary widely. The import and sale of smokeless tobacco products are banned in 40 countries and areas. In some countries, like Finland and Egypt, men use smokeless tobacco products in much greater numbers than women because such products are perceived as masculine; in countries like South Africa, Thailand, and Bangladesh, women use smokeless tobacco products more than men because they are seen as a discreet way to consume tobacco.
Research addressing smokeless tobacco is limited. Monitoring and surveillance systems are scarce, and significant research gaps exist in identifying ingredients, additives, and toxicities of smokeless tobacco products. Little is known about product pricing, substitution of smokeless tobacco for smoked tobacco, and youth susceptibility to smokeless tobacco use. Policies to control smokeless tobacco are underdeveloped. The integration of smokeless tobacco control measures into the wider framework of tobacco control can help to curb its use.

Consumer Says:

Beta ek gutka khane ka itna shauk hai to ek kaam kar. Ek dost aur banna. Kaandha deney ke kaam aayega.

Son, if you are so fond of eating gutka [chewing tobacco], make sure you make a friend so that you have someone to help carry your coffin.

Title track from Bollywood movie, Wanted, India

---

THE INDUSTRY Says:

We adopted our core strategy for growth: and that was to expand the smokeless tobacco category by converting adult smokers to smokeless tobacco.

Daniel Butler, President, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company
Source: Tobaccoatlas.org

Marlboro Man

Marlboro man is American cowboy and main character of Marlboro country, the best cigarette advertisement of the century, world recognized cigarette advertisement character, masculine trademark and macho icon. Marlboro man is the ad embodiment that was used by tobacco producer Philip Morris for the Marlboro cigarettes that primarily was a lady smoking brand.

The history of Marlboro man begins in 1954. The parent father of Marlboro Man was Leo Burnet- advertisement agent. P. Morris Tobacco Company introduced an innovation in producing of Marlboro cigarettes. This novelty ought to result a 3600 change of target smoking tobacco group.

This was the Burnet’s main purpose in creating the advertisement for new Marlboro cigarettes. Looking for the resolution, Leo had done a brainstorming: “What’ the masculine symbol people can think of?” This seems to be a reasonable and successful idea. The answer came from the wild New Mexico, Ranch in Cimarron that was “a real cowboy on his chaps and horse”. In 1972, this tobacco ad brought to Marlboro cigarettes the rank of world best selling tobacco product .And most famous one too. Every image of a cowboy, western landscape and/or red color keeps in mind the Marlboro trademark and it doesn’t matter if these images are accompanied or no by slogan or brand name.

Marlboro man that lives in Marlboro country becomes the symbol of freedom, wildness and independence. The famous cowboy is placed on the first place from the “101 most influential people who never lived” in Imaginary Luminaries. It also was claimed “the brand image of the century”.

The roles of the Marlboro man were portrayed by famous people as : actor and author William Thourlby (the first Marlboro Man), Quarterback Charley Conerly, Darrell Winfield, Dick Hammer, Brad Johnson, Bill Dutra, Dean Myers, Robert Norris, Wayne McLaren, David McLean and Tom Mattox.

More Info

1. Katie Connolly. "Six ads that changed the way you think". BBC.
2. Vintage Ads: 1975 "Marlboro Country" ad campaign
3. Kilgannon, Corey. "Face of Marlboro Prefers to Be Alone". New York Times. 
4. "An Ex-Marlboro Man Who Can Really Ride, Brad Johnson Adds Sigh Appeal to Always". People.
5. 28 May 2001 "Malboro Manslaughter"

How many sites selling cigarettes are there in the USA?

Tobacco products are a major retail item in the USA. Over 47 million adults and 4 million teenagers smoke cigarettes. Annual sales of tobacco products exceed $40 billion and there are approximately 543 000 tobacco retailers in the country. Smokers have traditionally purchased their cigarettes either by the pack or the carton from local retail outlets. These local retail outlets are now facing new competition from the growing number of e-commerce sites. Internet cigarette vendors (ICVs) include those that sell online exclusively, as well as local “brick and mortar” retail outlets that advertise and sell tobacco products on the internet. More Americans are online than ever, and many of them are purchasing products on the internet. As of August 2000, over 116.5 million Americans were online and 42% of US households had a computer with internet access. Over 47% of American internet users have purchased something online, and consumers report that one of the primary attractions of online shopping is finding low prices.

Increased state taxes on cigarettes have fuelled demand among smokers who seek refuge from escalating retail prices. In the USA, state excise taxes vary considerably. Vendors on Indian reservations sell tax-free cigarettes, and excise taxes are low in tobacco producing states such as Virginia ($.025 per pack of 20 cigarettes), Kentucky ($.03), and North Carolina ($.05). High excise taxes are featured in states such as California ($.87), Alaska ($1.00), Hawaii ($1.00), and New York ($1.11). Given that each carton contains 10 packs, a smoker buying cigarettes in New York will pay over $10.00 more per carton in excise taxes than a smoker in Virginia. In the past, when a state raised its excise tax on cigarettes, smokers who did not quit would either pay the increased price, or travel to Indian reservations or neighbouring states with cheaper prices. However, the internet offers the possibility of purchasing from Indian reservations or from states with lower excise taxes without having to physically drive there. A ready source of cheap cigarettes is now a mouse click away. This may have significant public health implications because tobacco consumption is adversely affected by price. When cigarette prices increase, smokers are likely to smoke less, change to cheaper generic brands, or quit smoking altogether. For instance, in California a 50 cent increase in state excise taxes (proposition 10) was followed by a 29% decrease in cigarette sales. Although the majority of this decrease was probably caused by reduced consumption, media reports speculated that many California smokers were simply avoiding high taxes by buying directly from internet vendors.

To the best of our knowledge, no published peer reviewed studies have examined web sites that sell cigarettes. The present study attempts to fill this void in the literature by using a rigorous internet based searching and sampling methodology to estimate the number of internet cigarette vendors. In addition, a standardised coding system is used to determine their characteristics including geographic location, presence of age and health warnings, and sales and marketing practices.

Premium cigarettes manufacturers

Philip Morris was the first tobacco manufacturer,  is an American global cigarette and tobacco company, with products sold in over 200 countries with 15.6% of the international cigarette market outside the United States. Marlboro, Parliament and L&M are known in any part of the world.On January 27, 2003, Philip Morris Companies Inc. changed its name to Altria Group, Inc. Even under this new name, Altria continues to own 100% of Philip Morris USA (abbreviated PM USA). Some view this name change as an effort by Altria to deemphasize its historical association with tobacco products.

RJ Reynolds the creator of best-selling Camel cigarettes brand. Camel cigarettes brand appeared in 1913 and was an innovation on the cigarette market. These were the first cigarettes sold in packs, that was not common at that time of days. This brand find market acceptance due to special blend of Virginia and Turkish tobacco having an affordable price and it is premium cigarette brand till nowadays. Other well-known cigarette brands, produced by RJ Reynolds are More, Salem, Winston and others.

Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken is another premium cigarette brands producer, based in Germany. It was founded in 1910 in Europe and got a high demand among smokers quite fast. This company always tried and still tries to fulfill requirements of each smoker, offering rich variety of cigarettes brands, finding new techniques and magnificent blends of tobacco. The most known cigarette brands produced by Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken are Davidoff, West , Boss and others.

British American Tobacco project is about to start a single SAP

British American Tobacco is expected to begin in September 2012 to try out new single SAP enterprise resource system.

More than 180 markets in the business of the company, is planning to 2016 in all business aspects of a comprehensive new system began trial from Malaysia, and is implemented in the Asia Pacific region.

It will replace the British American Tobacco is currently in the global business in the SAP system using six, and three years ago using the SAP system and CS3 62 local ERP systems.

British American Tobacco would like to take a new, single global SAP system, because more than one SAP system to the existing standard is difficult.

"The biggest problem is trying to regulate the SAP system has been used it is very, very difficult to change."

"We have to add more things for them to make them ... This standardization increases the global cost. In the same way using several SAP's efficiency is very low," BAT data in a single SAP project director Joan · Wei Neisi said.

The company's independent quality assurance and external management consultants partner with a magnet to implement the system.

Magnet company from the outset of this project to work with British American Tobacco, from the design stage to implementation and deployment phase. This is regarded as BAT's an unusual move, because the company usually only for the quality assurance stage.

"This is used to reduce project risk," Wei Neisi said. "The project is very expensive, requires a lot of time to do it right is absolutely important."

He added: "This is not a money thing - the first success of the project will be able to make savings."

Weinei Si said, with a magnet company, British American Tobacco on the project to a wider field of vision, technology and processes to help ensure effective implementation.

British American Tobacco also use a magnet to carry out similar projects in the advantages of previous experience.

In the first phase, the new SAP system will include a series of processes, including technology, spare parts management, production planning, purchasing and logistics. The integration of a number of different product specifications solutions, British American Tobacco will be the first time, start the SAP functionality in the product specifications.

After commissioning of the project, as the second phase of the system, it will be the implementation of human resources software and SAP's advanced planner and optimizer systems.

The tobacco industry

“More people smoke today than at any other time in human history. One person dies every ten seconds due to smoking-related diseases. Research evidence in the past five years shows a bleaker picture of the health danger of smoking than previously realised. Tobacco is the biggest killer, much bigger in dimension than all other forms of pollution.
Children are the most vulnerable. Habits start in youth. The tobacco industry knows it and acts accordingly. This is a medical challenge, but also a cultural challenge. Let us all speak out: tobacco is a killer. It should not be advertised, subsidised or glamourised. Adolescents should not be allowed to mortgage their lives to the seductive advertisements of the industry.
Girls and women are being targeted all over the world by expensive and seductive tobacco advertising images of freedom, emancipation, slimness, glamour and wealth.
Tobacco companies should be accountable for the harm caused by tobacco use. The day I took office I launched the Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) to spearhead the struggle to reverse the worsening trends in health caused by tobacco and to add momentum to a critical public health struggle.
The initiative aims at heightening global awareness of the need to address tobacco consumption. It also seeks to build new partnerships and strengthen existing partnerships for action against tobacco; to commission policy research to fill gaps; and, to accelerate national and global policy to implement strategies. The way it works illustrates the way we wish WHO to work in the future making the most of our own resources and knowledge and drawing heavily on the knowledge and experience of others.
Our goals are to:
• build “a vibrant alliance” between WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, and “partnerships with a purpose” with non governmental organisations, the private sector, academic/research institutions and donors.
• try to get more people to work on and support tobacco control activities and ensure that more resources are committed to tobacco research, policy and control.
• develop the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the world's first public health treaty. The treaty will only be effective if it works in conjunction with, and builds upon, sound domestic interventions. The good news is that the epidemic does not have to continue this way. There is a political solution to tobacco – a solution routed through ministries of finance and agriculture as well as health and education. We know that tobacco control measures can lead to a reduction in smoking as witnessed among some member states. WHO, the World Bank and public health experts have identified a combination of the following as having a measurable and sustained impact on tobacco use:
• increased excise taxes;
• bans on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and marketing;
• controls on smoking in public places and workplaces;
• expanded access to effective means of quitting;
• tough counteradvertising;
• tight controls on smuggling. These must all be implemented if the predicted expansion of the epidemic as outlined in this atlas is to be prevented. The picture is far from bleak. Globally, we have seen a sea change over the past few years. A groundswell of local, national and global actions is moving the public health agenda ahead.

A message from
Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland
Director-General
World Health Organization

One of the oldest cigar makers shuts down its plan

Florida will fell short of one of its iconic cigar plants in later this summer when Hav-A-Tampa closes its factory, which has been working since 1902 and fires almost 500 employees.
Hav-A-Tampa revenues were hit dramatically by constantly increasing tobacco taxes and strict indoor smoking policies that have obliged smokers to go outside for a puff.
Altadis Inc, the owner of Hav-A-Tampa made public their decision to close the plant on Thursday during a special press-conference.
The major part of employees was involved in manufacture of legendary Jewel cigars, Hav-A-Tampa's top-seller. According to Kevin Barlow, head of plant’s human resources department, many employees have been working there for 15 years or even more, with even one worker who has been employed for 50 years.
Altadis made desperate efforts to keep the factory going, but was unable to overcome dramatic sales decline caused by the economic downturn and landmark tax on cigars.
The manufacture would be transferred to another plant owned by Altadis and situated in Puerto Rico. The owner also decided to keep the Florida distribution center open.
After hearing the news of plant’s closure, Hav-A-Tampa workers were trying to figure out if they would be able to get new work in an state where the unemployment rate reached 10 percent last month.
Debra Barker, a Hav-A-Tampa worker admitted that she has been working at the plant for 15 years and there have been people who have been there even more. She said that she would get another job since she had a higher education, but it would be very difficult to get a decent job for other people who had been working at the plant after graduating from school.
Atladis spokesman said that a combination of several factors affected Hav-A-Tampa revenues, among which were the economic downfall, growth of unemployment rates and implementation of smoking bans in enclosed public places. The strict smoking bans have essentially hit revenues in central and northern states, where it's impossible to go outside in order to smoke a cigar in the winter.

Movie showing smoking - Part II

A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox, where all four series of the X-Men movie were filmed including the latest Wolverine movie, declared that Jackman's character was showed with a cigar only two times during the movie; moreover, the cigar was not ever lit.

She stated that despite the Wolverine character smokes a cigar in nearly each edition of the comic magazine, film director decided to avoid frequent showing of smoking in the movie.

The Medical Association of America, seeking to attract Hollywood tycoons' attention, recruited a truck carrying a billboard around the studios.

"Our designers have invented a poster showing an adolescent thinking, 'Which movie studios will cause me to smoke this summer?'” said the Medical Alliance executive.

Pamela Ramirez, the communications manager for Motion Picture Association declared that they have been rather delicate with the worries of parents regarding the aim of the rating systems.

She stated the Association started giving R rating to the films two years ago, responding to the changes in mentality and health complications related to teen smoking.

"Smoking has been rated similar to the factors like nudity or violence," she added.

First licensee prosecuted for flouting the smoking ban

THE NEW head of Scotland's leading anti-smoking charity has called for cigarettes to be taken off shop shelves as part of efforts to dissuade the next generation from taking up the habit.
In her first interview as chief executive of Ash Scotland, Sheila Duffy also warned plans to expand smoking cessation services were at risk because of inadequate government funding levels.
And she cautioned tobacco should not be seen as a "done and dusted" health issue following the implementation of the ban on smoking in public places.
Duffy, who took up her new post this month after the retiral of previous chief executive Maureen Moore, told the Sunday Herald one idea which should be examined is the selling of cigarettes "under the counter".
"Some countries have experimented with the idea of taking tobacco off the open shelves, so you are not just going and buying it like you would buy bread and milk," she said.
"In the longer term, I think it is something we should seriously consider because this product is so dangerous it would never be allowed to be sold openly if it came on to the market today."
The legislation on smoking in public places - which came into force in Scotland in March 2006 - has been followed by further measures aimed at curbing the nation's nicotine habit. In October last year, the legal minimum age for buying tobacco was raised from 16 to 18, bringing it into line with alcohol.
Other plans which may soon come under consideration include a licensing system for shops selling tobacco, proposed by SNP MSP Christine Grahame.
Last month the government pledged £11 million a year for smoking cessation, to allow health boards to continue services and develop new ones in settings such as workplaces and social clubs.
But Ash Scotland has raised concerns that - taking inflation into account - this level of funding will represent a reduction of nearly 6% by 2010. And, while the overall budget for tackling smoking has increased by £2.5m to £13.8m, Duffy argued it was still inadequate.
"Alcohol is receiving three times as much funding as tobacco control," she said. "We are not saying don't tackle alcohol abuse - you need to tackle alcohol - but tobacco is no less dangerous."
Her comments yesterday met with a mixed reaction from politicians and campaigners. The British Medical Association has also called for a ban on displaying cigarettes at the point of sale. A spokeswoman for BMA Scotland said the practice "normalised" cigarettes, especially when they are placed next to every day items.
"Research has found young children become more aware of tobacco brands when cigarettes are on display and they are more likely to express an interest in buying named brands," she said.
Labour's health spokeswoman, Margaret Curran, pointed out tobacco was still a major killer in Scotland and added: "It would be a disaster if the good work of encouraging thousands of Scots to quit tobacco was damaged by a lack of investment."
Mary Scanlon, health spokeswoman for the Conservatives, agreed cessation services and support were vital, but said selling cigarettes "under the counter" was a simplistic approach that would have little impact. "It is not the display of cigarettes that makes you want to buy them, it is because you are addicted to smoking," she said.
Neil Rafferty, of pro-smokers' rights group Forest, argued: "Cigarettes are a perfectly legal product and as long as they are a legal product then adults should be able to make a normal consumer choice."
He added: "It is typical anti-smoking hypocrisy. We are told in Scotland that alcohol is doing our country enormous damage, but no-one is going to suggest alcohol be hidden under the counter."
The Scottish government is due to publish a five-year smoking prevention action plan this year, which will draw on 31 recommendations made by experts in a report published in 2006.
Public health minister Shona Robison said: "Proposals for under-the-counter sales will be considered within this action plan.
"I am confident the £11m a year I announced last month for smoking cessation will allow boards to continue existing services and develop new ones."

Marlboro cigarettes

Big Tobacco’s tactics

The writer citing “the acid rain scare of three decades ago” to support his argument that climate change is a scam probably has a sense of irony equal to his understanding of science.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s acid rain program is a good example of a successful strategy to combat a serious problem. This program has achieved its goals of reducing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides through a cap-and-trade system on primarily coal-burning power plants. Since its implementation in the 1990s, it has successfully reduced acid rain levels by 65 percent at a cost much less than forecast.

As for global cooling, this was the brief darling of the pop press in the 1970s and was never taken seriously by the scientific community. It is in no way comparable to the present widespread scientific consensus that climate change is real and mostly due to human activities.
Regarding the “650 respected scientists” dismissive of global warming: There was also a time that the online tobacco
industry could muster many “respected scientists” to dispute that cigarettes cause cancer.

In fact, the strategies used then are now employed by climate change polemics. That is, recruiting just enough naysayers to confuse and instill doubt, despite the preponderance of evidence and expert opinion to the contrary, so those currently benefiting by the status quo can continue to profit to the detriment of everyone else. taxes

Cigarettes debut in America

Peuple wonders: Would a Pennsylvania law that took effect Jan. 1 requiring stores to sell only "fire-safe" discount cigarettes have a made a difference?
Raiford's mother and brother died in a July house fire in Homewood that investigators blame on an errant cigarette. Cora Mae Raiford, 83, was overtaken by flames and smoke on the second floor of her house. Kenneth Raiford, 56, who investigators believe was smoking on the porch, died in West Penn Hospital after suffering burns over most of his body.
"I don't believe God makes mistakes," Raiford said last week. "But if had been in place, who knows if things would have turned out differently.
"I am always going to miss my mother and brother. Sometimes you have got to protect people from themselves, and this is an opportunity to do that."
Fire-safe ourcigarettes.biz burn more slowly and self-extinguish if left unattended. Pennsylvania is one of 22 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that mandate them. Fifteen other states have laws that will take effect this year or next, according to the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes.


The law will save lives, say advocates and fire officials.


"Cigarette-related fires are the leading cause of home fire fatalities, killing an average of 700 to 900 Americans a year," said Lorraine Carli, spokeswoman for the National Fire Protection Association. "We are very optimistic that these types of cigarettes will make a significant improvement."
The paper in fire-safe cigarettes is thicker in two or three spots -- rings of less-porous paper that create "speed bumps" to prevent the smoldering paper from progressing toward the butt if the smoker does not take a drag often enough.
Critics say the fire-safe smokes taste different and the paper forces them to suck harder on the cigarette to keep it burning.
"The feedback has been mixed," said RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. spokesman David Howard. "It's different and it obviously takes some adjustment. We tell customers there has been no change at all in the blend. ... Yes, we've heard some (negative) reactions, but others have said they see no change at all."
RJ Reynolds will sell only fire-safe cigarettes by 2009, even in states that do not mandate them, Howard said.
Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Altria, parent company of Phillip Morris USA, said the cigarette manufacturer will continue to make fire-safe and regular cigarettes. He said Phillip Morris would like to see a national standard put in place rather than a patchwork of state laws. Past attempts to implement federal legislation failed, prompting a shift in strategy to seek state requirements, said U.S. Fire Administrator Gregory Cade.
Howard and Phelps said using fire-safe papers costs more than using standard papers, but the companies and not consumers will absorb the price increase.
Fire-safe cigarettes could save lives of smokers and nonsmokers, said Pittsburgh Deputy Fire Chief Colleen Walz.
Cigarettes that are dropped into wastebaskets or on furniture can smolder and then ignite after the smoker leaves the area, putting others at risk, she said.

Cigarette tax kicking butt

PITTSFIELD — Smokers felt the first burn of the state's new $1 tax increase on cigarettes yesterday.
"It's disgusting, people can't live today with all of these taxes, it's killing business," said a patron of A-Mart on North Street, who identified himself as "Stoney."
The statewide cigarette tax increase of $1 went into effect yesterday, after passage in the Legislature late Monday and Gov. Deval L. Patrick's signature yesterday.
In January, the average nationwide price of a pack of cigarettes was $4.25, as reported by a study tracking state cigarette prices, but in Massachusetts, an average pack cost $5.41.
With the total tax now at $2.51, Massachusetts now
Projections are that the tax hike will raise up to $174 million in revenues to help support the state's health insurance programs. Medical News Today, an online newsletter reported in February that the state's subsidized health insurance coverage could cost the state as much as $1.35 billion over the next several years.
"If they were smart, they would have the same tax that New Hampshire has," said Mark Parrott, manager of A-Mart in Pittsfield, where he was tagging new prices yesterday.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids reports that New Hampshire's cigarette tax is $1.08 per pack.
"They claim that they will raise $175 million with
this tax increase, but they will actually raise less, because they are not going to get the same number of consumers that they had before," said Parrott. "Some are going to quit smoking, and others are going to go to (buy in) other states."
For smokers, the cigarette tax adds to the increasing cost of gas and other commodities. But lawmakers hope the new tax will cause consumers to quit smoking.
But some smokers won't quit.
"Smoking is undoubtedly an addiction, in fact, it is more addictive than many more expensive drugs," said Emily Blanchard, community health worker for the Berkshire Area Health Education Center.
"Everyone has their own individual struggles, for one person it might be more difficult to quit than it would be for another person," she said.
During the month of June, the state was offering free two-week supplies of nicotine patches to individuals who called 1-800-trytostop. The program may continue depending on how successful it was, Blanchard told the Eagle.
Though Gloria Wilson feels the tax is too much, none of her friends seem upset by the increased tax, she said.
For many smokers, cigarettes use has been a part of their lifestyles since they were teenagers, said Wilson, a Pittsfield resident.
"I have smoked since I was 14," she said.
Pittsfield resident Anne Bishop, who was smoking a cigarette at a North Street park on Tuesday, said she's been smoking since she was in high school.
"I could quit if I wanted to, I have in the past, I could quit if they kept increasing the tax," Bishop said, but she indicated no intentions of quitting now.
She said cigarettes are not the products that should receive a tax increase.
"I think instead of increasing (the tax on) cigarettes, they should increase a liquor tax," Bishop said. "Drinking is more of a problem to quit, they should increase an alcohol tax. People drink, and then that makes them smoke more," she said.