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Cigarette sales on rise in Maine  

For the first time in years, cigarette sales in Maine are up as measured by the sale of the tax stamps that must be on every pack sold in the state. In the first six months of this year, tax stamp sales were up 5 percent.

“This is the first time that anybody at [Maine] Revenue Services can remember where we actually had an increase in our cigarette stamp sales, and it has been a 5 percent increase since the start of the calendar year and that is unheard of,” said Mike Allen, research director at MRS.

He said for years there has been a decrease in tax stamp sales of 1 or 2 percent every year, but for the budget year that ended June 30, sales were up 1 percent over a year ago.

“No one in the office could remember when we had an increase, year over year,” he said.

Anti-smoking advocates say it adds to the evidence that after years of decline, smoking is on the increase in Maine and there need to be further efforts to discourage the habit.

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