Another Cigar Price Check

It has been over a month since our last check of retail cigar prices. This effort is our attempt to gauge how much prices have increased as a result of the hike in federal excise taxes charged to cigar manufacturers (effective April 1, 2009), to help fund an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). As of June 24, the average price of cigars in our sample rose by approximately 7.8% since March 31, 2009. However, the increase in average price since our last check was attributed to one cigar retailer that did not adjust their prices until after May 12, 2009. There were no additional adjustments to cigar prices previously adjusted. Therefore, it now appears that retail cigar prices have stabilized, and that any price adjustments in the near future cannot automatically be attributed to SCHIP.

Going forward, cigar prices will continue to vary by individual retailer. However, since all cigar retailers did not adjust their prices by the same amounts after March 31, you should now expect to see even more price variances amongst various retailers than before SCHIP. Thus, more than ever before, always compare prices before buying your cigars!