Cheap cigarettes discount

cigarettes	discount cigarettes	dute free cigarettes
cheap cigarettes discount	online cigarettes	cigarettes online
cheap cigarettes	buy cigarettes	marlboro cigarettes

Cost of cheap cigarettes will rise in Alabama on Nov. 1

SUMMERDALE, Ala. -- The no-frills sign in front of Chuck Tracy's store must seem too good to be true for smokers used to paying upward of $27 a carton for cigarettes. discount cigarettes

The wooden placard gets straight to the point with three words and one number: "Cigarettes" and "carton + tax," then the kicker, "$12.99," in big, red numbers. cigarettes

"That's the hook -- that's what brings them in," said Tracy, owner of Cigarette King, an unobtrusive little store on Alabama 59 in Summerdale, just south of Robertsdale.

Once inside, smokers accustomed to major brands won't find Marlboros or Winstons or perhaps any other cigarette they've ever heard of.

Santelmos, made in Uruguay, are Tracy's top sellers, at $13.50 per 10-pack carton. Other favorites include Cowboy and Marathons. Stacked on the $12.99 table are the cheapest of the cheap: Lobos, Durants, Kingsleys and Carnivals.

But Cigarette King's sign will soon become a little a less enticing for smokers trying to save cash by skipping big-name brands.

On Nov. 1, Alabama -- joining about 17 other states -- will begin enforcing a pair of new laws designed to increase the cost of what are known as "fourth-tier" and "taste-a- like" brands, or, legally speaking, cigarettes made by "nonparticipating manufacturers." cheap cigarettes

The per-carton increase that will range from about 80 cents to $3.80, depending on the brand, is not a tax increase, and is unrelated to Gov. Bob Riley's failed revenue package. buy cigarettes

Nonetheless, it could add millions of dollars a year to the sums paid to Alabama and other states by the "participating manufacturers" -- major tobacco companies that joined in a historic 1998 agreement with the states. cheap cigarettes discount

In 1998, the tobacco industry agreed to pay the 50 states about $246 billion over the following 25 years to settle lawsuits filed to recoup taxpayer dollars spent treating tobacco-related illnesses. dute free cigarettes

In order to afford the twice-annual payments to the states, so-called Big Tobacco increased prices by about 40 cents a pack, or $4 a carton, within a year of the settlement. cheap cigarettes

Makers of brands like Cowboy, because they didn't participate in the settlement, immediately gained a substantial cost advantage. buy cigarettes

Such companies, some from other countries, moved quickly to grab the opportunity, said Wade Hope, an attorney with the Alabama Department of Revenue. cheap cigarettes discount

In 1998, fourth-tier brands held a market share of less than 1 percent. Five years later, these brands -- also known as taste-a-likes because they mimic particular famous brands -- have captured almost 6 percent of the market, according to the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington. cigarettes

That's been bad for the states, because the 1998 settlement contained a provision that allowed the big cigarette-makers to reduce their payments if they lost market share. cigarettes

In large part because of the rise in popularity of the cheaper brands, payments to the states fell to 85 percent of the projected total in 2001 and, last year, to 81 percent, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. buy cigarettes

"That has resulted, since 1999, to about a $5 billion loss to the states, because of the discount cigarettes," Hope said. Cigarettes Store

Hope said that the effect on Alabama, which receives a national settlement share of about 1.62 percent, has been significant. Assuming a $5 billion total loss to the states, Alabama's reduction would amount to about $81 million. buy cigarettes

Alabama uses its tobacco settlement dollars in a variety of ways, but primarily to fund programs and provide benefits for children and seniors. cigarettes

The new laws, which contained a grace period to allow the state Revenue Department and the cigarette-makers time to prepare, were passed by the Legislature this spring and signed by the governor on June 23. online cigarettes

If all goes as planned, cost increases applied to fourth-tier brands will increase the market share of the name brands. That would raise the amounts those companies pay the states or at least prevent continued erosion, and, theoretically, lead to a decrease in smoking as well, he said. Cost increases, he said, are a widely recognized means of lowering smoking rates. dute free cigarettes

Closing loopholes:

It's not surprising, then, that fourth-tier cigarettes have become an issue for Big Tobacco.

So far, 17 states have passed the model legislation, and about eight states already had similar laws, Hope said. He expects all or most states to pass the legislation within the next year or so. Cigarettes Store

One of the new laws creates a registry of brands eligible to be sold in the state. The Revenue Department will be responsible for Alabama's list, Hope said. online cigarettes

That list will include brands produced by companies that pay into the national settlement fund, and the fourth-tier brands that comply with the second of the two laws by contributing to separate escrow funds. dute free cigarettes

To some degree, the 1998 national settlement anticipated competition from companies not participating. It contained a provision that required nonparticipants to pay certain amounts into escrow funds, with one for each state where the companies sold their products. Cigarettes Store

Those funds are supposed to serve two purposes: eliminating some of the price advantage of fourth-tier brands, and creating pools of money in the event the states later sue those cigarette-makers and win a judgment. discount cigarettes

But, said Hope, some makers of fourth-tier brands have employed all manner of loopholes to avoid escrow payments or to legally remove escrow contributions soon after deposit. buy cigarettes

For example: One method of determining the per-pack contribution into the escrow fund is based on a brand's previous year's sales. Some manufacturers have dodged this by changing the names of their brands every year. dute free cigarettes

It would be a good thing, Hope said, if payments from the tobacco companies decreased for the reason that fewer Americans -- and fewer Alabamians -- were smoking. But fourth-tier brands encourage smoking at the same time that they decrease payments to the state, he said. marlboro cigarettes

Tracy not going away:

Price is everything in his business, Tracy said. In order to persuade a smoker to try a fourth-tier brand, the brand needs to cost at least $2 or $3 less per carton. cheap cigarettes discount

"I think the ceiling on these type cigarettes is $18 or $19 a carton, max," said Tracy. buy cigarettes

Most fourth-tier brands seek to copy Marlboro in style and taste, because it's the biggest seller, Tracy said. He grabbed a carton of Cowboys, and pointed to a picture of a cowboy on the front -- a not-too-bad rendition of the Marlboro Man.

Other Cowboys are designed to taste like other popular brands, such as Newports. Santelmo, his top seller, specializes in cigarettes that taste like Camels, Tracy said.

Tracy, who is not a smoker, said his industry believes it can win over customers if it can only get them to try its product. A two-pack-a-day smoker -- and he says that covers most smokers -- will save more than $1,000 a year.

"What I've been told is, if anyone smokes four packs of cigarettes of a different brand, their taste buds acquire the taste for the brand," Tracy said.

On Friday afternoon, Earl Thomas came to a Mobile store that sells taste-alikes in search of a cheaper version of the filterless Camel regulars he has smoked, at about a pack a day, for 40 years.

"I tried some Marathons, but they burned up real fast. They didn't taste bad, they just smoked quick, so I'm going to try these," said the Mobile man, holding up a pack of Santelmos. Cigarettes Store

He lit one to test it out, savored it, exhaled the smoke through his nose, then pointed with mild disappointment at the end of the cigarette.

"See how much is gone with one draw?" he noted.

But he'll keep trying. "Since the popular brand is so high, I can't afford them," Thomas said.

Another customer in the Mobile store, who declined to give his name, professed himself pleased that Cowboys taste like his favorite brand, Newport.

In a few weeks, Cigarette King's Tracy will be removing the $12.99 price on his sign, and doesn't yet know what he'll be replacing it with. He said he plans to absorb some of the higher costs to stay competitive.

The friendly, 49-year-old businessman is not entirely without hope. On Thursday, he received a delivery of a new brand, Ol' Kentucky. The picture on the cartons -- green tobacco fields, and a barn -- was certainly attractive enough.

"I'm hoping these go over well," Tracy said, as he stacked the new entry into coastal Alabama's cigarette market.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	free hosting image hosting hosting reseller online album e-shop famous people