Inflation stressing you out? Making you wish you had just a touch of nicotine in your system? Unfortunately, that’ll cost a lot. While prices economywide have risen 3.1 percent in the last year, cigarette prices have jumped 8 percent. On top of federal and state taxes that often make up half the price of a pack, tobacco companies tend to raise their prices faster than inflation to make up for declining sales volume. These and the rest of the numbers in the Reason Sindex use data from November 2023.
Category Change since January 2020 Change in last year Overall Inflation 18.9% 3.1% Tobacco and smoking products 30.0% 7.7% Cable, satellite, and livestreaming services 16.2% 4.3% Medicinal drugs 6.2% 5.0% Meats 26.8% 3.6% Televisions -22.6% -9.5% Cigarettes 31.3% 8.0% Sugar and sweets 25.6% 5.4% Airline fares -5.6% -12.1% Gasoline, unleaded regular 25.5% -9.3% Prescription drugs 3.1% 3.8% Alcoholic beverages (At home) 10.0% 1.5% Alcoholic beverages (Away from home) 18.5% 5.2%
The post The Sindex: Cigarette Prices Outpacing Inflation appeared first on Reason.com.
