Tobacco Taxes Massachusetts's excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $1.510 Massachusetts's excise tax collection for the fiscal year ending June 2002: $270,128,000 Sales tax on tobacco products: 5.00% Federal excise tax per pack of cigarettes: $0.39 Total federal excise tax collections in fiscal year 2002: $7,512,700,000

Who Profits from Cigarette Sales? click for larger view

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Number of six-packs of beer that must be sold in Massachusetts to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 127.5

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Number of bottles of wine that must be sold in Massachusetts to produce the same state excise tax revenue generated by one carton of cigarettes: 69.7

Massachusetts Smokers' Contributions
to the State Economy - FY2002

Smokers Pay Excise Taxes2	$	270,128,197
Smokers Pay Sales Taxes2	$	70,797,970
Smokers Pay Tobacco Settlement Payments3	$	289,011,461
	$	629,937,628

• Income1

Massachusetts smokers' median household income	$	42,052
Massachusetts nonsmokers' median household income	$	55,138

• Working Families Pay More1

25.8% of Massachusetts smokers had household income LESS THAN $25,000




20.7% of Massachusetts smokers had household income EQUAL TO or GREATER THAN $75,000




The impact of smoker payments on the incomes of working families was more than THREE TIMES the impact on higher income smokers. Those who can afford it least pay a disproportionate percentage of their hard-earned income in smoker payments.

• Smoker excise tax/sales tax/tobacco settlement payments liability in 20024

Total average paid per Massachusetts smoker in excise and sales taxes	$	360
Cost per Massachusetts smoker for settlement payments to Massachusetts	$	306
Total annual payments to Massachusetts per smoker	$	666
Total annual payments to Massachusetts per nonsmoker	$	0

TOTAL SMOKER CIGARETTE PAYMENTS TO MASSACHUSETTS FY2002 Per year: $ 629,937,628 Per day: $ 1,724,675 Per hour: $ 71,861 Per minute: $ 1,198 Per second: $ 20

1 Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001
2 Orzechowski & Walker, Arlington, Virginia; from state revenue department.
3 PriceWaterhouseCooper
4 U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 state population and Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Surveillance System, 2001
5 Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and Executive Office for Administration and Finance, Fiscal Affairs Division, The Governor's Budget Recommendation Fiscal Year 2003: Budget and Economic Overview, January 23, 2002. Online at http://www.state.ma.us/bb/fy2003h1/govs_message/overview.htm.
6 American Economics Group, Inc., The U.S. Tobacco Industry in 1997: Its Economic Impact in the States.

A summary of Massachusetts commonwealth law is provided below
(for specific questions regarding commonwealth law, contact your legal advisor.)

Minimum Age	Retailers are prohibited from selling tobacco products to persons under the age of 18.
Restricted Products	Cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff, cigarette papers or any tobacco in any of its forms.
Acceptable Forms of Identification	Liquor purchase identification card, motor vehicle license, a valid passport issued by the United States government or by the government of a foreign country, or a valid United States issued military identification card.
Fine/Penalty Schedule for Selling to Minors	Violators will be fined at least $100 for the first offense, at least $200 for the second offense, and at least $300 for third and subsequent offenses. Whoever sells cigarette rolling papers to any person under the age of eighteen shall be punished by a fine of not less than $25 for the first offense, not less than $50 for the second offense and not less than $100 for a third or subsequent offenses.
Affirmative Defense	None.
Minor Possession	Minors are not prohibited from possessing tobacco.
Sign Requirement	State law regarding the sale of tobacco must be posted conspicuously at each point of sale, stating as follows: WHOEVER SELLS A CIGARETTE, CHEWING TOBACCO, SNUFF OR ANY TOBACCO IN ANY OF ITS FORMS TO ANY PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN OR, NOT BEING HIS PARENT OR GUARDIAN, GIVES A CIGARETTE, CHEWING TOBACCO, SNUFF OR TOBACCO IN ANY OF ITS FORMS TO ANY PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN, SHALL BE PUNISHED BY A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR THE FIRST OFFENSE, NOT LESS THAN TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A SECOND OFFENSE AND NOT LESS THAN THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR ANY THIRD OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES. Violators will be fined $50. Any person unlawfully removing a copy of the state law while the premises are used for the sale of cigarettes shall be fined $10.
Compliance Checks	As a condition of receiving federal substance abuse block grant funds, federal law requires the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to conduct random, unannounced inspections of tobacco outlets to determine compliance rates.
Visual Characteristics of a State-Issued License	"JR OPERATOR" appears in a red bar at the top of the card of a license holder who is under the age of 18.
DISCLAIMER: This information summary is provided as a service of the Coalition, but is not intended to provide legal advice or analysis. These summaries are not intended to be complete representations of state law, which may contain additional rules and restrictions relating to tobacco products not mentioned in this summary, as well as retailing prohibitions related to matters including, but not limited to, state required training, minimum pack size, the sale of loose cigarettes and other restrictions. Retailers should not rely on these summaries as complete or accurate descriptions of applicable federal, state or local law. Users with questions about the law should seek the advice of counsel. Each state law is unique and possibly represents multiple legislative or regulatory acts. Local laws may differ. Check with local authorities for variations from state law. These summaries are not intended to be complete representations of state law.

The reprinting of this information from the Coalition, does not constitute a representation or admission by RJRT that such information is accurate, complete, or a proper characterization of the laws concerned. The Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing is a cooperative effort among retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers who share a common goal: to do all they can to prevent tobacco sales to minors.