Cigarette Sales May Fall

Fri., Nov. 22, 1996

Compiled From Wire Services

Cigarette sales in Oregon should drop about 6 percent after a new tax raises the price of a pack by 30 cents, according to federal statistics.

The tax, approved by Oregon voters Nov. 5, will raise money to expand the Oregon health plan and pay for an anti-smoking campaign.

Nationally, states that have raised their cigarette tax and beefed up anti-smoking education have seen a significant decrease in cigarette sales and numbers of smokers.

Generally, for every 10 percent increase in the prices of cigarettes there is a 4 percent decrease in consumption, at least initially, said Michael Eriksen, director of the office on smoking and health for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

In Oregon, where the price of cigarettes will go up 15 percent to $2.30 a pack as of Feb. 1, sales would be expected to fall 6 percent.

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