Chicago will now be the second largest city in the U.S. where you must be 21 to use tobacco products. And, taxes on those products, including cigars, are going up. Today, the Chicago City Council voted 35-10 in favor of raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 and increasing taxes on a variety of tobacco products, including cigars. The move roughly a month after the same City Council moved to delay the vote on the anti-tobacco measures over a variety of concerns. For cigar smokers, taxes on cigars will now increase by 20 cents per cigar, this is on top of a state 36 percent tax on the wholesale price and a 30 cent per cigar tax from Cook County. This means that a cigar that has a suggested retail price of $9.50 will now likely retail for around $12.68 in Chicago. The actual cigar will only cost around $11.21 when you get to the register, but after a total of 10.25 percent in sales taxes, 30 cents to the county and 20 cents to the city, almost $1.50 in additional taxes are added. It should be noted that the increase is less than what was originally proposed last month. The ...
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