In a recent survey held two weeks ago by the Prospector of 100 students who smoke on campus, many say they have started cutting back or quitting as the new piece of legislation, Proposition 22 has put an enforced two dollar per pack tax increase on cigarettes last month.
“I have started cutting back on smoking and will eventually quit,” Yuba College student Talia Helde said. “The tax on cigarettes just gives me another reason to quit sooner.”
Last month, a box of cigarettes cost 3-4 dollars and within the first week of April, they were increased to 6-8 dollars.
Businesses selling nicotine products meant to help smokers quit such as the patch or nicotine gum, are not benefiting from the cutback in cigarette sales because the tax on these products went up, too. The nicotine patch or nicotine gum which used to cost as much as $50 a box has shot up to $70 a box, a 40% increase.
The survey revealed that 40% of students who smoke have cut back, while 50% of students plan on quitting before the end of the semester. There was a 5% of students not worried about the prices going up while the other 5% said they don’t pay for cigarettes, they share them with friends and don’t smoke all the time.
“I will quit when school ends,” Yuba College Student Isaac Bigbo said.
Last month, people reported an increase in campus smoking but since the tax increase, the number of students who do smoke on campus has nearly been cut in half.
The result of the increase in prices for nicotine products and people quitting has yet to be seen.
Comment Policy: Comments are welcomed and encouraged. However, the editorial board reserves the right to edit or delete, without notice, any comments submitted to the blog. For more details, see our full Comment Policy.