Smoking decline hits tax revenues

The good news is Hawaii residents are buying fewer cigarettes. The bad news is that the drop is hurting tax revenues.
According to tax collection records, island consumers bought 417 million packs of cigarettes during the first 10 months of the year, a 12 percent drop from the same 10-month period last year.The decline comes as officials hoped recent tobacco-related tax hikes would generate nearly $47 million in added revenue over two years to help balance the state's budget.
Higher tobacco taxes are aimed at driving down demand while increasing income for the state.