PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois smokers are bracing for the $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase that takes effect Sunday, with some stocking up and others vowing to kick the habit.
The (Peoria) Journal Star reports that some business owners are doing a brisk business now, but worry that could change once the increase kicks in.
The tax on a pack of cigarettes is jumping from 98 cents to $1.98.
Lorraine Harvey is assistant manager at Discount Tobacco in Peoria. She says she'll try to quit smoking rather than pay the tax. But she hears others talking about buying cigarettes from other states.
Meanwhile, so many smokers have been stocking up that distributors are having trouble meeting demand. Harvey has limited her customers to two cartons apiece until the tax increase takes effect.
