The increase in excise tax for cigarettes went into effect this past Monday and smokers are now being hit with higher prices, upwards of about $6 a pack in some stores.

Before this, cigarettes were being sold as low as $3.75 a pack and as high as $4.50 per pack.

This year, a cigarette shortage resulted in smokers driving across the island, looking for cigarettes. During that time, some stores had limited smokers to purchasing only one pack per person, to accommodate the many smokers looking for cigarettes.

The excise tax — approved by the Fono during the last session — more than doubles the price, from 12-cents to 30-cents per cigarette. This means that the $25 tax usually collected from business owners per cigarette carton is now up to $60 per carton— meaning retail prices need to increase in order to make a profit. The price for cigarettes is solely up to the store owners.

But the increase in price has not stopped smokers from lighting up.

Samoa News spoke to several smokers who say the increased prices will not force them to quit.

Some people have admitted to having family and friends coming in from off island, bring with them a carton of cigarettes from duty free shops in Hawai’i and the US mainland.