SCRANTON, PA - Pennsylvania tobacco retailers along New York's border have realized increased consumer traffic, as a new cigarette tax on New York cigarettes raised the price of a pack of smokes statewide to $9.20 and in New York City to $11, The Scranton Times Tribune reports.

"We have a lot of New Yorkers that come here, and I expect more," said Rene Kizer, store manager of Smokin' Joe's Tobacco Shop in Beach Lake, Wayne County, six miles across the border from New York.

Premium cigarettes in Kizer's store cost less than $6 and a carton of cigarettes go for $59, compared to $100 just over the Delaware River in New York.

Last week, New York increased its state tax on a pack of cigarettes $1.60 to $4.35, the highest in the U.S. and slightly below the price for a generic pack of cigarettes €" including taxes €" in Pennsylvania.

At a smoke shop in Pike County, just across the New York border, one store employee already counts "almost all" of her store's customers from New York and New Jersey looking to save money on cigarettes.

"[The higher tax is] good for business...absolutely, hands down," said Natasha Marcial.

And an employee at Cigar & Cigarette Outlet in Milford, Pennsylvania, summed up very simply the effect of New York's tax increase.

"We are cheaper...they will come," said Manhar Patel.

Look for an upcoming feature in NACS Magazine addressing the effects of disparate tax structures on neighboring entities.