County Cigarette Tax Hike Goes Into Effect Today

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 1, 2013 7:20PM

The $1 increase in the cigarette tax approved by the Cook County Board goes into effect today. The tax brings the average cost of a pack of cigarettes in Chicago to a foreboding $6.66. The county expects to raise $25.6 million in revenue from the hike, although a 2010 litter study from the University of Illinois at Chicago estimated 75 percent of smokers head outside the city limits to buy their cigarettes.

No matter, according to County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who took to the County’s blog to promote the tax hike as a public health initiative benefiting the Cook County public health system.

“By making cigarettes more expensive in Cook County, we are representing the societal cost of smoking,” President Preckwinkle said. “It is a proven public policy tool that will bring in needed revenue for our public health system, while lowering smoking rates and preventing people from picking up the deadly habit.”

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a “libertarian” think tank that advocates for less government and free enterprise, published a study last month called “The Wages of Sin” that claims sin taxes on goods like tobacco and alcohol do little to reduce public health costs.

But the cigarette tax hike has been a boon for lobbyists doing business with the County. The tobacco lobby accounted for 10 percent of the $2.4 million paid to lobbyists to influence Cook County officials last year.