“Ziad Jabri has always seen a steady stream of customers from Massachusetts. But this year, it’s gone through the roof. The big driver for that growth Massachusetts’ ban last year on flavored tobacco and flavored vapes. While the pandemic has taken its toll on some of many sources of government revenue, the state’s tobacco tax collections are surging right. It’s not just the Massachusetts ban that’s driving up sales in New Hampshire. Experts say the pandemic’s impact on daily life also appears to be spurring growth in tobacco use. While heavier smoking rates are bad for public health in the long run, in the short run the state is benefiting from higher tax collections. Data from New Hampshire’s Department of Revenue show that between January and October of this year, the state collected $33 million more in tobacco taxes than during the same period last year – a 19 percent jump. “This is a trend we’ve been seeing across the country,” Lindsey Stepp, the department’s commissioner said. “States are seeing increases, or at least not decreases, in tobacco revenue since the pandemic began.””
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N.H. Tobacco Revenue Surges Amid Pandemic
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