Tobacco Taxes Going Up

Cigarette prices in Nova Scotia will rise by $4 a carton, effective 12:01 a.m. Nov. 2, Finance Minister Neil LeBlanc said today in the legislature.

In collaboration with other provinces, the Nova Scotia government is raising tobacco taxes to help discourage smoking. Price increases will occur at the same time in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario. The Nova Scotia provincial portion of the tax increase is $2.50, while the federal portion is being raised by $1.50.

"The Department of Health just released their tobacco strategy," said Mr. LeBlanc. "The intent is to convince Nova Scotians to stop smoking or refuse to start. Increasing the price of tobacco is a key element of the strategy, as higher cigarette prices are a deterrent to smoking, especially for young people."

Mr. LeBlanc successfully raised the issue of higher tobacco taxes with his counterparts from across the country at a meeting in Vancouver three weeks ago. A subsequent meeting with federal and provincial finance ministers in Ottawa on Sunday, Oct. 28, confirmed the group's intention to uniformly raise tobacco taxes.

"We quickly came to a consensus that raising tobacco taxes is the most effective tool in the fight against smoking," he said. "This initiative could only work with the full cooperation of the eastern provinces, and I'm pleased that we achieved that goal."

Nova Scotia prices for cigarette sticks and fine-cut tobacco will also rise by $4 per 200 sticks and 200 grams, respectively.

Staff from Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations will be communicating with tobacco retailers and wholesalers to ensure the new tax is applied to current inventory sold after midnight tonight.