Some Lynners would rather quit than pay a buck more per pack

LYNN – He’s smoked for 20 years but Bob Coleman swore the pack of Marlboro Lights he bought at Cal’s News Tuesday would be his last.Coleman’s not embarking on a health kick; he’s striking a symbolic blow against the new dollar a pack tax on cigarettes. State legislators claim the hike, approved Monday, will provide $175 million more in tax revenue.”It’s unfair,” Coleman said, adding, “We’re going tax crazy. I think it’s ridiculous. How much can you squeeze out of somebody?”Cal’s customer Mary King agreed and said she plans to end her half- century cigarette habit in protest of a tax that will boost the average price of a cigarette pack in Massachusetts to $6.41.”It’s the principle of the thing,” she said.That said, don’t expect Tina Phillips to give up her Newport 100s.”You got to do what you got to do,” she said.Top pre-tax prices for cigarettes at Cal’s Tuesday were $5.26 a pack for Marlboros and $4.75 for the Kool cigarette pack special.Supporters say the tax increase money will go to help cover the cost of the state’s landmark health care law. Coleman has his doubts.”Is it really going to go where they say it’s going to go?”Opponents say the tax hike unfairly targets one group of people and will hurt small Massachusetts businesses that sell cigarettes close to the New Hampshire border.”You hear that sound?” Rep. George Peterson, R-Grafton, said putting his hand to his ear during the House debate this week. “That’s the big sucking sound as people travel over the border to buy their cigarettes.”But Cal’s employee Barry Nardone said smokers are weighing the price of gasoline against any savings they realize from buying cigarettes in New Hampshire. Some smokers like Joyce McCrae economize by buying rolling tobacco.The cans of Bugler she buys cost $18 a pound. A can of American Spirit costs $15 and a pouch of rolling tobacco costs $1.75.”Everything’s up. I don’t think they should pick on the smoker,” McCrae said.Senate Republican Leader Richard Tisei of Wakefield said the new tax sends the message the state is relying on smokers to maintain their habit in order to fund the Commonwealth Care program.”If you smoke already, please continue to smoke and if you don’t smoke, maybe you should start smoking,” said Tisei, who opposes the tax increase.