ShopRite, Wegmans in New Jersey to stop carrying cigarettes

ELIZABETH, N.J. Six ShopRite stores in the New Jersey area will stop selling tobacco products this month. Wegmans has also ended tobacco sales in 70 of its stores since last month.

Many retailers have concluded that it is simply not profitable to stock cigarettes because the New Jersey state excise tax is so high. In fact, New Jersey has the highest tax on tobacco in the U.S. at $2.58 cents per pack, before the federal tax of 39 cents. Many smokers in the state shell out more than $7 per pack.

The state tax on cigarettes is $1.15 in neighboring Delaware, $1.35 per pack in Pennsylvania and $1.50 per pack in New York State.