How much do cigarettes cost in New Orleans?

Sign in a Pullman car

There's a special train that runs between Chicago and New Orleans that is made up of restored Pullman cars.  If you don't know what that means, here's a link.  Whoever designed that site is a little more enamored with cascading web pages than I am, but if you poke around, you'll get the idea of what it's about.  Here's the wikipedia entry for those who like their information dry, yet informative.  It's a non-smoking train.

Most people don't leave personal things behind when they leave our inn.  The most common thing we find is a stray sock.  We don't contact you if we find one of your socks because we figure you would lose it in the laundry anyway.  Besides, it will cost more to mail it than the cost of two new socks.  

Anything important, of course, like passports, we Fedex overnight to wherever you may be.  I had to do that last week.  We don't do it for free, of course, but we don't make a profit on it, either.

Speaking of non-smoking trains, this brings us to a topic I've been meaning to discuss: How much do cigarettes cost in New Orleans?

Gas station fence, New Orleans

We were at Orleans Grocery and Gas the other day and that reminded me that I had taken a few pictures there a few weeks ago.  I made a mental note.  "What are you doing now?" Frau Schmitt asked, and I told her our guests might be interested in how much cigarettes cost in New Orleans.  "I don't think that's very interesting," she said, but she doesn't smoke.  She is usually right about these things, but I'm betting she's not... this time only.

Orleans Grocery and Gas.  Po' Boys-Deli-Seafood

I took these pictures a few weeks ago, so the photos are not up to date.  I doubt the prices have changed much.  Cigarette taxes are laughably low in Louisiana compared to other states.  You see, our governor, presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal, is against taxes of all kinds.  Most of the citizens of Louisiana seem to be against receiving government services, so it works out just fine.  Frau Schmitt and I?  We're agnostic on this matter.  

For an extra $5.00, though, you can have "I'm a Cajun" printed on your driver's license or state-issued ID card.

Between two cars in New Orleans

If you stay with us, we don't encourage you to sit in your room and watch TV.  We only have basic cable.  If you really want to watch TV, do it the way New Orleanians do it.  Go to a bar.  They do all sorts of things in the bars in New Orleans, including their laundry.   They even allow smoking is in bars.

Next to an ice machine in New Orleans

You can't smoke in every bar, but there are plenty where you can if that's your thing.  You can't smoke in restaurants anymore, though, so don't get any smart ideas. 

Cigarette prices in New Orleans

The city tried to pass a local cigarette tax this year.  The city's budget is in dire straits and the mayor wants to raise new revenue.  If the city wants to pass a new tax, it needs to get permission from the state.  The matter was briefly debated in the legislature this session, and the bill died in committee.  The governor never would have signed it anyway.

I don't smoke cigarettes either, but I've been known to enjoy a cigar.   You don't have to go to a cigar bar to enjoy a cigar in New Orleans.  It's all live and let live, laissez les bon temps rouler!  You can smoke on the balcony, just don't smoke in our house.

Cigarettes are cheap in New Orleans, but life isn't.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.