$1 cigarette tax not forcing as many to quit as hoped

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A $1 increase in Wisconsin’s cigarette tax has gotten at least some people to quit, but not as many as anti-smoking advocates had hoped.

Cigarette tax collections have gone up 87 percent through November of the current fiscal year.

They totaled around $200 million, compared to $107 million at same time in 2007.

Ken Klockzien of Appleton quit for a few weeks this year but started up again. He says a good cigarette can relieve stress when times are tough.

Maureen Busalacchi of Smoke-Free Wisconsin says lots of folks are still smoking, but they’re doing it less.

She said many cigarette-makers cut their prices this year and it negated some of the effects of the tax increase.

State officials say the percentage of adults who still smoke – around 20 percent - is the lowest in Wisconsin history.

Wisconsin’s Tobacco Quit Line took a record 39,000 calls this year from those wanting to quit.

Tags: wisconsin news, cigarette, tax, adult, smokers