Lack of cigarette sales good for health, bad for state coffers
By Bobby Caina Calvan, Sacramento Bee
Cigarette sales in California plunged to their lowest level in a decade last year as smokers were squeezed by new taxes and restrictions on where they could light up.
While tobacco use has been steadily declining, the 8.1 percent sales drop was the largest year-over-year decline since 2000, according to the state Board of Equalization.
The number of cigarette packs sold in the state fell to 972 million – down from from 2.8 billion in 1980.