Story by Annie Slezickey
May 20, 2009 – In April, Illinois lawmakers gave smokers one more reason to quit: A $1-a-pack price increase on cigarettes sold in the state.
To avoid breaking their wallets to feed a fix, some smokers, who already pay 98 cents in state tax for each pack, are exploring alternatives to paying more for cigarettes.
A recent Columbia College Chicago graduate, who asked not to be named for concern of prospective employers, said the tax increase gives her an incentive to rethink her method of purchasing cigarettes.
“If you continue to smoke and spend more, you have to think how you can save more elsewhere,” she said. “Instead of thinking, OK I’ll buy a pack a day, I think where can I get two packs or a carton instead? It’s like bargain hunting for cigarettes.”
According to the American Cancer Society in a statement released on April 2, the price increase for cigarettes would result in an estimated 72,000 adults in Illinois to quit smoking because they would rather not pay more for cigarettes.
“I wish paying more per pack would make me want to quit but it’s just an incentive to get creative about how you purchase cigarettes,” she said.
While some smokers like 19-year-old Jessica Zaehringer choose to buy cigarettes outside of Cook County where the sales tax is lessened, other smokers like Chas Alling choose to pursue other methods of purchasing their nicotine.
Alling, a 26-year-old Chicago resident, said he has been rolling his own cigarettes for about two years. While other smokers take out their packs to light one up, Alling pulls out a small, thin metal container, about the size of an Altoid dispenser, which holds his homemade cigarettes.
“A couple of years ago when there was a price increase, I just figured rolling my own would be more affordable,” Alling said. “Then, I got hooked.”
Although Alling rarely buys packs of cigarettes anymore, he said the tax increase has given him an incentive to continue rolling his own.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever buy another pack of cigarettes, but I’ll keep smoking,” Alling said.
Once he started creating his own cigarettes with tobacco and papers purchased from Blue Haven on Belmont Avenue in Chicago, Alling said he found that rolling his own cigarettes was more affordable and better quality than purchasing packs.
“The cost of tobacco has gone up by a few bucks but it’s still cheaper for me to roll my own than spend $50 on cigarettes a week,” Alling said.
One pouch containing 1.1 ounces of tobacco costs Alling about $7 and will last him up to three days and provide enough tobacco to roll about 40 cigarettes. With packs costing about $8 each, Alling said he is saving more money rolling his own cigarettes than spending $56 a week for a pack a day.
“I used to stock up on cigarettes in Michigan and bring cartons back to Chicago because it was cheaper,” Alling said. “Now, I’m stocking up on tobacco in Chicago to roll my own in Michigan and it’s still cheaper.”
Alling said even liquor stores and convenient stores like 7-Eleven are beginning to sell higher quality tobacco brands like Drum and Balishag, brands that only a could of years ago were exclusive to cigar shops and specialty tobacco stores. A spokesperson from 7-Eleven was unavailable for comment on their new merchandise.
Sen. John Schoenberg (D-Evanston) sponsored the bill, SB 44, which increased the cigarette tax. State officials estimated that of the potential $320 million extra a year for the state budget, some funds will be allocated for health programs.
Opponents of the bill believe that the price increase will hurt small businesses selling the same products at a higher price and will only convince smokers to travel out of state to spend their money on cigarettes.
Zaehringer said she anytime she travels out of state, she purchases multiple cartons of cigarettes to save money.
“It’s like they’re trying to punish us for smoking,” Zaehringer said. “Why don’t they tax other products that are health risks like potato chips, obesity is a bigger health problem than cigarettes in the this country but they want to make money off smokers.”
“I would recommend not smoking,” Alling said. “It’s still a bad habit and a health hazard but if you’re going to smoke, at least if you roll your own you know exactly what you’re putting in to each cigarette.”
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