Ontario to boost tobacco taxes by $1.25 a carton as of midnight
01/31/06
TORONTO (CP) - It's about to get even more expensive to be a smoker in Ontario.
The province's Ministry of Finance is boosting the cost of a carton of cigarettes by $1.25 as of midnight tonight.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says the measure is the next step towards making the province completely smoke-free.
He says tax hikes on tobacco are especially effective at discouraging young people from taking up the habit.
Duncan says the province is also buttressing its enforcement of the Tobacco Tax Act, noting that both seizures of contraband tobacco and convictions under the act have increased dramatically in the past year.
The province has already passed legislation prohibiting smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces across Ontario as of May 31.
Cigarettes
