New York has the highest cigarette tax in the nation and it is continuing to grow. They are calling it a success because the number of calls to the state’s Smoker’s Quitline quadrupled when the $2.75-a-pack tax took effect, damn. They are trying to give New York smokers multiple reasons to stop and these ridiculously high prices would do it for me.

On June 3, the cig tax jumped from $1.25 to $2.75 a pack! Cigarettes in the state range anywhere from $6 to $8 per pack depending on brand and particular store. New York City even has its own tax and prices are as high as $10 a pack. New Jersey is the highest at the moment with a $2.58 tax. The quitline upped it kits to quit smoking from 1,722 to 7,900 in just a year due to the tax. I guess options for New Yorkers would be to buy out of state or online… or just quit altogether cause I could never justify $10 for 20 cigs. That’s steep.

So there’s this bum hangout right around the corner from the Synthesis office. It’s like this shelter for young adults who want to sit around all day smoking cigarettes and hanging on the couch in the air conditioning with their pit bull mix instead of, well, anything else. Today on my way to get coffee, Dain and I walked by this young derelict who asks, almost as an afterthought, if he could bum a cigarette. It might have been a cold move, but this was my response:

I think singing one bar of the The Silhouettes’ “Get a Job” got my point across.

Being a dick is awesome.