Reported by Mark Jenkins
ORLANDO -- New figures showed cigarette sales have dropped after two tax hikes in the last five months.
The latest state numbers showed a 28 percent drop in July versus the same month last year.
In 2008, Florida’s 34-cent tax per pack was among the nation’s lowest.
This year, cigarettes were packed with an extra 62 cent federal tax starting in April.
Three months later, the state jumped on board with an extra $1 per pack.
Wali Waliulla, an Orlando convenience store manager, said he has seen a 15 percent drop in cigarette sales at his store since the tax hikes, amounting to several thousand dollars a month.
“It’s a cutthroat business as far as convenient stores go,” Waliulla said. “Everybody is trying to hang on to their existing customers, or trying to attract more customers to offset what was lost because of the cigarette taxes going into effect.”
For some, the new tax was reason enough to quit smoking. Others said they just switched to cheaper brand cigarettes, or even cigars.
Gas stations and convenient store representatives statewide said recent layoffs were linked to the tax hike, and more are inevitable.
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