North Carolina has the sixth-lowest cigarette tax.
According to research by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an anti-smoking advocacy group, only five states have lower cigarette taxes: Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina.
North Carolina's 35-cents per-pack tax is far below the $1.15 median rate of Arkansas and Delaware. The lowest is 7-cents in South Carolina; the highest, $2.75 in New York.
Gov. Beverly Perdue has proposed raising the tax by $1 per pack. The new rate of $1.35 would tie Pennsylvania for 20th highest rate.
It would also be the highest among neighboring states of Georgia (37 cents), Virginia (30 cents), South Carolina and Tennessee (62 cents).
The tax rates are as of April 1 of this year. The federal cigarette tax will increase to $1.01 on April 31. In addition, a few cities and counties charge local cigarette taxes.
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