Cigarette prices go up

Smoking in the CNMI has just become more expensive.

Cigarette prices went up by as much as $1.20 a pack over the weekend, due in large part to a law that increased the excise tax on cigarettes about three years ago and spread that increase over several years.

The prices went up last Saturday, with many stores on Saipan being given notice of the increase by suppliers a week or a month ago. Still, the price increase caught many by surprise.

The increase was based on Public Law 18-64, which gradually increased the tax on cigarettes. It was signed into law three years ago, in September 2014, by the late governor Eloy S. Inos.

The bill was authored by Rep. Ralph Demapan (R-Saipan), currently the House speaker, back in 2014.

The law states that an excise tax for cigarettes shall be imposed, from $2 per pack to $2.75 per pack across three years after the bill is enacted. After three years, the excise tax on cigarettes shall increase to $3.75 per pack.

The purpose of the law is to discourage smoking in the CNMI, which results in increased illness and reduction of life expectancy.

According to a cigarette consumer who asked not to be identified, the price of his favorite pack of cigarettes rose by $1.10, while other brands went up by $1.25 a pack. Many smokers went on Facebook to express surprise and dismay at the price increase.

David Maratita, director of Alcohol, Beverage and Tobacco Control at the Department of Commerce, clarified yesterday that the increase is not under the jurisdiction of the ABTC. “I believe that deals with excise tax.”

According to the law, 7 percent of the excise taxes collected shall be deposited in a solid waste management revolving fund and will go to solid waste management.

Three percent shall be deposited in a cancer fund special account and reserved for cancer treatment and programs and 50 percent shall be deposited to fund the payment of the Commonwealth’s share in the Group Health and Life Insurance benefits and for enforcement.

Currently, many local and federally funded programs are also being implemented to encourage smokers to quit smoking.

According to the CNMI Non-Communicable Diseases & Risk Factor Hybrid Survey Report 2016, adults 25-34 years old have the highest prevalence of smoking.

About 33 percent of men and 17 percent of women currently smoke. Of those smokers, 65 percent are Carolinian, 34.3 percent are Chamorro, and 56.2 percent are other Pacific Islanders. The report also said that 78 percent of smokers report wanting to quit.

Early this month, the Racial Ethnic Approach to Community Health launched a new anti-tobacco campaign, making people aware of the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke.

According to Racial Ethnic Approach to Community Health project assistant Hee Jae Lee, smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer.

“Your smoking habits are not only harming you but also your loved ones and friends who are around you and inhale your cancer-causing cigarette smoke. Please call the quit line at 323-7848,” she said.