Cigarettes have an average cost of $5.51 with the price in most states being between six and eight dollars. This number is taken from the combined prices of all of the states but the actual numbers varying greatly with the most expensive cigarettes costing on average $12.85 (New York). Overall smoking is an expensive habit and in one year in New York it is possible to spend over $4,690 for cigarettes alone.

The main reason for the extreme prices of cigarettes in New York is the cigarette tax. The state imposed a tax that comes out to $4.35 on every pack of 20. In addition to the cigarette tax there is a New York state sales tax which adds on $1.60 to the price. The cost mentioned earlier of $12.50 is just an average of the state’s cigarette prices and some researchers have found prices all the way up to over $14 a pack. Some people speculate these high prices are to help dissuade people from purchasing cigarettes and to start on healthier habits.

States With Cheapest Cigarettes

If you are looking to live in a state where cigarettes won’t cost you that much money you would be best advised to move over to Missouri or Virginia. Both state’s average price for cigarettes is $5.25, which is actually a 10% decrease from the 2014 cost in Virginia. Missouri also has the lowest state excise tax at only $0.17 per pack.

Kentucky formerly had the lowest price on a pack of cigarettes at just under $5 but they lost their ground and a pack there now costs $5.40. Some other states such as Alabama, Arkansas,Iowa, and South Dakota, have reduced in price. Arizona has the lowest drop in price, the cost of cigarettes was reduced by 17% or $1.60. California and Iowa tie for second largest price reduction at 13%. Despite the reductions in prices no state saw prices as low as the lowest 2014 prices.

Over half of the states saw price increases. 62%, or 32 states, saw increases in the cost of cigarettes. The largest increase was 36% in Minnesota that comes to a $2.15 cent increase. The smallest increase seen was .01% or $0.03

In every state the cost to buy cigarettes for 20 years is over $38,000; that is enough money to buy a new car or in some states put a down payment on a house. None of these numbers take into account the medical costs of smoking cigarettes. The average yearly treatment for lung cancer in the United States is over $8,000 and to start treatment costs over $60,000.

Regular smokers are going to be upset as the prices on average in the United States have risen. Experts and researchers think that they are only going to continue to rise which will upset many smokers. The majority of prices used for the averages in each state come from convenience stores and fuel stations from the most populated areas in the states. There is a chance that some of the states offer cheaper prices outside of the cities but don’t get your hopes up, no one surveyed had cigarettes offered for under $5.

How Much is a Pack of Cigarettes

In the table below you will see the average price for a pack of cigarettes in all US States:

State	Cost	State	Cost	State	Cost	State	Cost
Alabama	$5.51	Kentucky	$5.40	North Carolina	$5.45	West Virginia	$5.43
Alaska	$9.79	Louisiana	$5.44	North Dakota	$5.33	Wisconsin	$8.82
Arizona	$8.05	Maine	$7.37	Ohio	$6.03	Wyoming	$5.41
Arkansas	$6.07	Maryland	$7.75	Oklahoma	$6.29
California	$5.89	Massachusetts	$9.95	Oregon	$5.69
Colorado	$5.65	Michigan	$8.00	Pennsylvania	$6.85
Connecticut	$9.52	Minnesota	$8.10	Rhode Island	$8.95
Delaware	$6.35	Mississippi	$6.34	South Carolina	$5.85
Florida	$6.30	Missouri	$5.25	South Dakota	$6.08
Georgia	$6.39	Montana	$6.46	Tennessee	$5.30
Hawaii	$9.55	Nebraska	$6.23	Texas	$6.69
Idaho	$5.41	Nevada	$6.15	Utah	$6.89
Illinois	$11.50	New Hampshire	$6.64	Vermont	$9.62
Indiana	$5.97	New Jersey	$8.20	Virginia	$5.25
Iowa	$6.29	New Mexico	$7.67	Washington	$9.30
Kansas	$5.83	New York	$12.85	Washington DC	$7.99

As you can see from the above table, prices vary greatly from $5.25 in Virginia to $12.85 in New York. However, this difference is nothing compared on what you can see at a global level.

Marlboro Carton Price by Country

There was a study that compared the average prices of Marlboro cigarettes in almost 100 countries, and the results were spectacular. The price for a pack of Marlboro was the highest in Australia at $20.69 while the cheapest Marlboro could be bought in Nigeria for only $0.83 a pack (20 cigarettes). This means that the same brand of cigarettes was 25 times more expensive in Australia than in Nigeria.

Below you can see the detailed results of the study:

1.	Australia	$20.69	33.	Panama	$5.00	65.	Bangladesh	$2.83
2.	New Zealand	$19.93	34.	Chile	$4.87	66.	South Africa	$2.78
3.	Ireland	$13.92	35.	Estonia	$4.73	67.	Mexico	$2.77
4.	Norway	$13.50	36.	Thailand	$4.60	68.	Turkey	$2.73
5.	U.K.	$13.07	37.	Slovenia	$4.57	69.	Egypt	$2.53
6.	Canada	$11.49	38.	Japan	$4.54	70.	Syria	$2.45
7.	Iceland	$11.37	39.	Czech Republic	$4.51	71.	Brazil	$2.39
8.	Singapore	$10.40	40.	Hungary	$4.33	72.	Kenya	$2.36
9.	Israel	$10.13	41.	Malaysia	$4.28	73.	Macedonia	$2.35
10.	France	$8.91	42.	Slovakia	$4.23	74.	Azerbaijan	$2.35
11.	Switzerland	$8.81	43.	Latvia	$4.23	75.	Lebanon	$2.33
12.	Finland	$8.24	44.	India	$4.23	76.	Tunisia	$2.31
13.	Netherlands	$7.80	45.	Poland	$4.20	77.	Russia	$2.27
14.	Hong Kong	$7.59	46.	Romania	$4.20	78.	Bolivia	$2.17
15.	United States	$7.50	47.	Croatia	$4.19	79.	Algeria	$2.09
16.	Belgium	$7.35	48.	Lithuania	$4.18	80.	Iraq	$2.00
17.	Germany	$7.13	49.	Costa Rica	$3.88	81.	Nepal	$1.94
18.	Sweden	$6.85	50.	South Korea	$3.88	82.	Philippines	$1.87
19.	Denmark	$6.71	51.	Dominican R.	$3.77	83.	Argentina	$1.84
20.	Saudi Arabia	$6.66	52.	Peru	$3.75	84.	Indonesia	$1.83
21.	Sri Lanka	$6.61	53.	Uruguay	$3.75	85.	Georgia	$1.83
22.	Malta	$6.46	54.	Taiwan	$3.67	86.	Colombia	$1.81
23.	Italy	$6.13	55.	Jordan	$3.53	87.	Ukraine	$1.66
24.	Austria	$6.13	56.	Morocco	$3.49	88.	Belarus	$1.55
25.	U.A.E.	$5.72	57.	Montenegro	$3.45	89.	Venezuela	$1.50
26.	Ecuador	$5.60	58.	Guatemala	$3.24	90.	Uzbekistan	$1.45
27.	Spain	$5.57	59.	Bulgaria	$3.13	91.	Pakistan	$1.29
28.	Portugal	$5.57	60.	Iran	$3.10	92.	Armenia	$1.25
29.	Qatar	$5.53	61.	Serbia	$3.03	93.	Vietnam	$1.08
30.	Bahrain	$5.31	62.	Kuwait	$2.97	94.	Kazakhstan	$1.06
31.	Cyprus	$5.23	63.	Albania	$2.92	95.	Nigeria	$0.83
32.	Greece	$5.01	64.	China	$2.91

While cigarette prices also vary by brand, the most important brands of premium cigarettes like Marlboro, Newport or Camel are in the same price range.

Most Popular Cigarette Brands in the US

The US cigarette market is dominated by Marlboro with around 40% market share. Newport is the second best selling cigarette brand at 14%.

The other important brands in the local market are Camel (8%) and Pall Mall (7%). All other brands have a market share of 2% of lower, with Maverick, Santa Fe, Winston and Kool fighting for the fifth spot.

As you can see, the US market is very concentrated and only a small number of brands manage to attract significant sales. People from other countries would be surprised to see famous international names like Lucky Strike, Dunhill or Kent missing entirely from the list.

Cheaper Alternatives to Smoking

While cigarette costs continue to rise, there are also some good news for smokers. The new technologies have brought to the market some amazing alternative products that are much healthier and also cheaper. E-Liquids (vaporizers) are an excellent alternative that offers all the pleasure of smoking without the health hazards and with much lower costs. In comparison to regular cigarettes, vaporizers are much cheaper. Studies have shown that 2 ml of E-Liquids are the equivalent of one pack of cigarettes, and with a 30 ml bottle of E-Liquids costing only $16, we can conclude that the price equivalent for vaporizers is only $1.06 (you can buy them from VaporFI). Vaporizers come in many distinct flavors, so you can experience a multitude of sensations and try something new whenever you want.

The prices of cigarettes have been going up for a very long time, and the trend is almost certain to continue, considering the policy makers aggressive stance on smoking. While buying cigarettes from cheaper sources can be a good way to reduce the cost associated with this habit, quitting smoking for good is surely the most economical and healthy option for everyone. Modern programs such as Mike Avery’s Quit Smoking Magic have a very high success rate in helping people quit smoking for good and can be a very effective way to save money in the future.