INDIANAPOLIS, IN ? The rising cost of cigarettes has prompted a number of new roll-your-own cigarette shops to open in the Indianapolis area, the Indianapolis Star reports.
"I haven't bought a carton [of cigarettes] in months because they are too darn expensive," said local resident Tina Ward, who recently rolled her own cigarettes at Indy?s Smoke Station for less than $25, roughly half the price of brand name cigarettes.
"I think I've found me a new cigarette," she said.
Ward is not alone in Indy, and as a result, commercial brands are losing sales to bags of tobacco and rolling paper, staples of the do-it-yourself set.
"My over-the-counter, regular cigarette business has just kind of died," said Randy Biggs, owner of Randy's Tobacco Shop on Lafayette Road, who now offers roll-it-yourself options for $15 to $20.
Four Smoke Stations have opened in the past eight months, with owner Kelly McKasson saying he plans to operate as many as 12 within the city.
"With today's economy, it's a big, big savings for people," said McKasson.
The lure of roll-it-your-own cigarettes, of course, is the absence of taxes, McKasson explains.
?Because we are just selling raw material, we are not a manufacturer, and we don't have to abide by the state minimum prices," he said.
As a result, gas station and convenience store say that whenever the cigarette tax increases, their cigarette sales decrease as they lose out to the roll-your-own stores.
"The first thing that happens when taxes go up is that people seek out low-tax and no-tax alternatives," said Jeff Lenard,�vice president�of communications for NACS. "Until everything is equal for everyone, you will see people exploit loopholes."
"It's really, really taken off," said Dave Kepler, owner of Smoker's Choice, which has seven locations, adding that even if taxes are imposed on the rolled cigarettes, consumer consumption shouldn?t vary.
"It's still going to be a better value than commercial," he said.
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