DES MOINES, Iowa— The number of Cigarettes sold in the state has decreased by 36 percent in the last year, according to state officials.
DES MOINES, Iowa— The number of Cigarettes sold in the state has decreased by 36 percent in the last year, according to state officials.
The Iowa Department of Revenue reports 3.2 billion Cigarettes were sold from last March through this month. That's down from about 5 billion Cigarettes sold in Iowa between March 2006 and March 2007.
The department's numbers are based on a standard pack containing 20 Cigarettes.
Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said there may be several factors for the drop, but ``clearly the most important is the increase in the cigarette tax.''
The state raised the cigarette tax a year ago by $1 a pack. Earlier this month, state figures showed the tax brought in about $135 million in its first year.
``We did the right thing and it's doing marvelously well,'' Quirmbach said.