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Cheap Cigarettes?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Fatty FatBastard, Dec 20, 2006.

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  1. Lil Pun

    Lil Pun Member

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    I heard a couple ladies at work talking about a place online called smokers cafe or something like that. Might want to take a look.
     
  2. R0ckets03

    R0ckets03 Member

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    [​IMG]

    bidi anyone?
     
  3. Mr. Brightside

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    ^^is that rolled up in an actual leaf? thats super cool if it is.
     
  4. Jugdish

    Jugdish Member

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    Hang out at the Proletariat and the Engine Room so you can get two packs of Camels for free. Of course, you'll have to sit through unconscionable acts, but, hey, free cigs.
     
  5. Fatty FatBastard

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    Nobody likes a quitter...

    Tex, you have your wimpathy on this one... :p
     
  6. Fatty FatBastard

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    Bring 'em on!

    I'm going to court in the next couple o' months. It seems "someone" decided to boot cars the week before Christmas. I'll have a field day with the jury. I had my car booted for unpaid parking tickets while I was, for all intents and purposes, an invalid. The only reason I found out about it was I heard my car's alarm, and had to hobble down three staircases to get to the bastards.

    BTW, the really fun part is that, technically, I was parked legally.

    Moneygrab at its best.


    Oh, and the only reason I know its a moneygrab? Another buddy of mine got a boot tonight in the exact same area.
     
  7. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

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    I didn't quit smoking cigarettes. I stopped smoking cigarettes!

    :p ;) :D

    And...if someone like me, who started at age 13, can stop....anybody can! :)

    My tip to those who want to stop....cold turkey is the only way to go. Patches, nicorette, and all of the "aids" that are sold...only delay the inevitable.

    My other tip...hook up with a fine woman who won't have sex with you if you smell like an ashtray!!! :D :D :D
     
  8. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

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    Man, I used to smoke the hell out of bidis back in the early 1990s. That's about the strongest nicotine hit you can purchase. Way stronger than Lucky Strikes, Pall Malls, or any of the other unfiltered cigs you can purchase. The only trouble I had was keeping them lit.
     
  9. Freik

    Freik Member

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    I havent decided if im going to quit or just go to the indian reservation on 1960 not too far from aldine westfield to buy cigs. No taxes there at all.
     
  10. glad_ken

    glad_ken Member

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    $1-a-pack hike in cigarette tax a few days away

    By GARY SCHARRER
    Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

    AUSTIN — Texas smokers will pay significantly more for cigarettes starting Jan. 1 when the excise tax increases by $1 a pack in a move that health experts hope will discourage folks, especially teens, from lighting up.

    The state tax increase — from 41 cents to $1.41 per pack — also will help pay for school property tax cuts.

    Some smokers say legislators went too far, while the convenience store industry worries that the steep price increase will lead to more black market sales and cut into legitimate sales of tobacco products.

    But others argue that health issues should trump all else.

    "The cigarette tax, more than anything, will have the most significant impact in stopping kids from ever starting smoking, because they are so price-sensitive," said James Gray, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society, Texas chapter.

    The Texas tax increase will push the price of a single pack of cigarettes to around $4.50.

    An estimated 143,000 Texas adults will quit smoking, and a projected 284,000 teens never will start smoking as a result of the tax increase, Gray said, citing various studies. About 3.3 million Texans currently smoke, based on a 20 percent adult smoking rate in the state, he said.

    Texas taxpayers spend about $1.5 billion a year, Gray said, for treating tobacco-related illness in the Medicaid program for low-income people.

    'A terrible shock'
    Most smokers don't realize they soon will be paying considerably more for their habit, said longtime smoker Gertrude Lizakowski, of San Antonio.

    "They are going to get a terrible shock when Jan. 1 comes around," she said.

    A one-pack-a-day smoker will pay nearly $50 a month in tobacco excise and sales taxes, Lizakowski said.

    "That's pretty heavy for smokers in Texas," she said. "I think it's unfair, because it targets one class of people."

    Lizakowski has been smoking for 66 years and does not plan to stop now.

    "Am I going to quit just because cigarettes go up $10 a carton? No. Why should I? It's an addiction. It's a withdrawal thing just like drugs. And it's hard on your nerves," she said about quitting.

    She recently stocked up with seven cartons to save herself $70 in new taxes.

    Teenagers and smoking
    Lawmakers declined to increase cigarette taxes during a tight budget year in 2003 when they cut spending on the Children's Health Insurance Program.

    But they could not resist raising cigarette taxes in the spring when searching for more revenue to cut property taxes. The $1-per-pack increase should generate roughly $700 million a year more in taxes, according to projections by the comptroller's office: $682.6 million in fiscal 2008 and $722.8 million for fiscal 2009.

    All of that new tax revenue will go to reduce property taxes. But Senate Health and Human Services Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, said she will renew efforts in the upcoming legislative session to allocate a modest portion for smoking prevention programs aimed at teenagers.

    "As a mother and a grandmother, it's very important for me that we stop a whole other generation of kids from being hooked on tobacco," she said. "The cost is just too great."

    She said she wants lawmakers to set aside 5 percent of the new tobacco tax revenue for anti-smoking programs.

    "Every month you can keep a person past 14 from smoking, chances are they won't become a smoker," Nelson said.

    Texas' cigarette tax rate will leave 15 other states with higher taxes on cigarettes. New Jersey has the highest state tax at $2.58 per pack. But some communities also impose local taxes, creating a combined state-local tax rate of $3.66 per pack in Chicago, for example. Anchorage has a tax of $3.10 per pack, and New York City taxes $3 per pack.

    Tobacco sellers
    Convenience stores are bracing for a financial setback, as cigarettes represent 34 percent of in-store sales, said Chris Newton, president of the Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

    About 14,000 convenience stores in Texas will face fewer sales as shoppers forgo stops for cigarettes, Newton said.

    "Consumers who choose not to stop by a convenience store to purchase cigarettes means that those same consumers will also not be making other purchases they traditionally make when purchasing cigarettes, such as soft drinks or food products," he said. "The economic impact of these consumers' decisions will be especially felt in Texas' border cities like El Paso and Texarkana."

    El Pasoans will save $5 in excise taxes on every carton by shopping in neighboring New Mexico, while Texarkana shoppers could save more than $8 per carton in Arkansas.

    "The impact will be disproportionate along those areas of Texas that border other states, because the consumer will readily cross the border to save that much on cigarette taxes," Newton said.

    He said he fears that more smokers will turn to the Internet for tax-free cigarettes, Indian tribal retailers or black market cigarettes.

    The convenience store industry will urge Texas lawmakers and the comptroller's office to beef up enforcement efforts.

    "Our association has encouraged its members to promptly report any signs of illicit activities or other tax-evasion schemes to the comptroller's office or their local law enforcement authorities," Newton said.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4425102.html
     
  11. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

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    I wonder how many smokers will stop as a result of the tax hike.

    $4.50 for a pack of Marlboro Lights?
    $6.00 for a pack of American Spirits or Djarum Lights??

    If you smoke a pack a day, that is beaucoups dinero...

    :eek:
     
  12. Xenochimera

    Xenochimera Member

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    djarum blacks are $5/pack cheapest i can find. if anyone can find legit djarum blacks for cheaper, i am eternally grateful.
     

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