Cheap cigarettes near me are sold at federal, state, and local levels and in many states the price of cigarettes is regulated. Some states have a minimum price floor, for example Colorado’s is $7 per pack, and other states have implemented tax increases on tobacco products. Proponents of cigarette taxes claim that higher prices lead to lower consumption and reduced death rates. However, smokers are able to find cheap cigarettes near them that allow them to continue smoking. This may attenuate public health efforts to reduce smoking prevalence through price and tax increases.
Internet cigarette vendors are a source of inexpensive cigarettes in the United States. These sites sell cigarettes to individuals whose purchase is made using a credit card or cash, bypassing traditional retail sales channels and thereby circumventing cigarette price caps and taxes. A variety of state laws regulate Internet cigarette sales, and some laws contain provisions designed to prevent tax evasion. These include requiring the customer’s name and address be used, age verification, and taxes to be collected and remitted.
This paper analyzes data from the Internet Cigarette Regulatory Authority to identify state tobacco laws that regulate Internet cigarette sales, and it identifies the characteristics of those states that have the highest cigarette excise taxes. The findings of this study will provide a baseline that can be used to inform future research aimed at identifying effective policy solutions for regulating Internet cigarette sales. Kurt M. Ribisl, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC.