At a time when cigarettes were still considered safe, they were cheap and widely popular — costing just 25 cents a pack on average in the 1950s.
In 1965, 42% of adults smoked. Since then, the adult smoking rate has declined and now stands at 14%. Despite the decline, smoking remains one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States, accounting for nearly half a million deaths each year.
Following the Surgeon General’s landmark 1964 report on smoking and health, governments employed many strategies to reduce the smoking rate. While warning labels on packaging, anti-smoking media campaigns, and health education in schools play an important role in promoting a smoke-free lifestyle, one of the most effective methods has been increasing the retail price of a pack of cigarettes by raising taxes.
The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in the United States today has risen to an average of over $6.00 — including all taxes — with prices at the state level ranging from $4.96 in Missouri to over $10.00 in New York state. The differences in the state-level cigarette prices are the result of differences in state tax rates. Federal and state taxes range from 23.8% of the total price of a pack of cigarettes to over 50.0% in some states, including New York.
Tobacco consumption is known to be a major cause of lung cancer, which is one of the most common types of cancer in both men and women. Many of the states with the highest prices of cigarettes have the lowest consumption rates and are some of the states with the lowest rates of lung cancer deaths.
To highlight how the price of cigarettes has changed over time and the possible impacts on smoking and smoking-related illnesses, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average price, taxes, and consumption rates of cigarettes over the decades.
Click here to see the price of a pack of cigarettes through the decades
Click here to read our methodology
Source: George Marks / Getty Images
1950s
> Avg. price: $0.24 per pack
> Inflation-adjusted price: $2.29 per pack
> Avg. state and federal cigarette taxes: $0.12 per pack
> Annual consumption per capita: 2,404 cigarettes
> Lung & bronchus cancer deaths: 19.8 per 100,000
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Source: Keystone / Getty Images
1960s
> Avg. price: $0.30 per pack
> Inflation-adjusted price: $2.44 per pack
> Avg. state and federal cigarette taxes: $0.15 per pack
> Annual consumption per capita: 2,660 cigarettes
> Lung & bronchus cancer deaths: 31.9 per 100,000
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Source: Photo by Fox Photos / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
1970s
> Avg. price: $0.47 per pack
> Inflation-adjusted price: $2.24 per pack
> Avg. state and federal cigarette taxes: $0.20 per pack
> Annual consumption per capita: 2,738 cigarettes
> Lung & bronchus cancer deaths: 45.8 per 100,000
Source: GoodLifeStudio / Getty Images
1980s
> Avg. price: $1.01 per pack
> Inflation-adjusted price: $2.40 per pack
> Avg. state and federal cigarette taxes: $0.31 per pack
> Annual consumption per capita: 2,520 cigarettes
> Lung & bronchus cancer deaths: 58.6 per 100,000
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Source: J.D. Cuban / Getty Images
1990s
> Avg. price: $1.93 per pack
> Inflation-adjusted price: $3.24 per pack
> Avg. state and federal cigarette taxes: $0.56 per pack
> Annual consumption per capita: 1,865 cigarettes
> Lung & bronchus cancer deaths: 61.7 per 100,000
Source: Photo by Chris Hondros / Getty Images
2000s
> Avg. price: $3.94 per pack
> Inflation-adjusted price: $5.17 per pack
> Avg. state and federal cigarette taxes: $1.39 per pack
> Annual consumption per capita: 1,452 cigarettes
> Lung & bronchus cancer deaths: 55.2 per 100,000
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Source: wundervisuals / Getty Images
2010s
> Avg. price: $6.32 per pack
> Inflation-adjusted price: $!Undefined Bookmark, N per pack
> Avg. state and federal cigarette taxes: $2.62 per pack
> Annual consumption per capita: 468 cigarettes
> Lung & bronchus cancer deaths: 44.0 per 100,000
Methodology
To determine the cost of a pack of cigarettes the year you were born, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average weighted retail price of a pack of cigarettes from the 2018 Tax Burden on Tobacco report published by the Federation of Tax Administrators. State and federal cigarette taxes for each year as well as annual consumption per capita also came from this report. Inflation-adjusted prices per pack are in chained 2019 dollars. The rate of lung and bronchus cancer deaths came from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2017 report.
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