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Mayor Sheila Dixon’s proposal to ban the sale of individual "little cigars" would probably discourage some Baltimore youngsters from buying them, but it’s only the tiniest step in the right direction. The problem is more fundamental: They aren’t really cigars at all, but an increasingly popular way to skirt cigarette taxes and distribute flavored tobacco cheaply, especially to young African-Americans.

Unlike genuine cigars that are rolled tobacco leaf, little cigars are more like oversized cigarettes in dark brown paper. They are usually inhaled rather than puffed and come in flavors such as chocolate, raspberry and cinnamon.

Because they are classified as cigars, they aren’t as heavily taxed as cigarettes, don’t carry as many health warnings and can be sold individually. As a result, they can be purchased for as little as 69 cents compared with a $5 pack of cigarettes.

The General Assembly last year raised the tax on cigarettes to $2 per pack (and part of the justification was to make them less attractive to children by increasing their price) but failed to address little cigars, which are taxed at about one-sixth the rate of cigarettes. .

The U.S. Treasury was petitioned two years ago by 40 state attorneys general to redefine little cigars as cigarettes, but so far no action has been taken.

Shame on all of them.

Baltimore can ban the sale of individual little cigars, but it’s foolish to assume that will solve the problem. Their too-low price is the real culprit, and a product that may look a bit like a cigar but is actually made (and is smoked) like a cigarette ought to be treated by government as the same.

That would not only discourage underage smoking but essentially close a tax and regulatory loophole that harms people of all ages.

New York now has the highest tax on cigarettes in the nation.

Tuesday it went up by $1.25.

That pushes the tax to $2.75 per pack.

As Action News Reporter Caitlin Nuclo tells us, the move is getting mixed reactions today from smokers, and non-smokers alike.

Smokers can now expect to pay as much as 6 or 7 dollars for a pack of cigarettes.

The increase has some smokers angry, but many people are happy with the change.
"Having the highest tax in the country we have the lowest number of smokers, said "Dr. Richard Terry from United Health Services.

Anti-smoking groups say every state that has increased their cigarette tax has seen a drop in both teens starting to smoke and in daily smokers.

They say about 140,000 people will stop smoking because of the added cost.

"We don’t want our kids to start smoking and even smokers who have been smoking for all of their lives agree that they don’t want their children to start smoking, said Christie Finch with the Tobacco Free Broome Coalition.

"Health officials hope that the tax hike will help smokers kick the habit"

And it has for some.

Gregory Winnick says he couldn’t afford to buy cigarettes anymore.

He was smoking 6 to 7 packs a week, spending about 35 dollars.

He says he feels ten times healthier since he quit, and offers some advice to smokers.

"Just find that one emotional push to get you over the edge to quit. Everybody has one," said Winnick.

For Winnick, the extra $1.25 was enough for him to kick his habit.

But Steven Gradijan says he’s been smoking for 30 years, and the tax increase isn’t going to make him stop anytime soon.

"I don’t think that raising the price is going to make anyone quit just because of the price. You want to quit you are going to quit on your own and cost is not a factor," he said.

Gradijan says until he’s ready to quit, he’ll look for ways to save, like buying his cigarettes online.