The Sindex: Cigarette Prices Outpacing Inflation
The Reason Sindex tracks the price of vice: smoking, drinking, snacking, traveling, and more.
(Photos: iStock)
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% |