Cigarette Tax Increase Takes Effect April 1

California’s Department of Public Health ain’t foolin’ about the $2 hike cigarette prices will take on April 1. Proposition 56, approved in November, raises the tax from 87 cents to $2.87 per pack in an effort that might induce some to quit and will send more money to enforcement, prevention, physician training, and health care. The tax will be proportionate on the cost of e-cigarettes and e-liquids. Cigarettes cost the one in nine Californians who smoke about $1,500 a year, and about 34,000 their lives from smoking-related diseases.