The government of N.W.T. (Northwest Territories) has increased the tax on cigarettes, making people pay now the highest rate of taxes in the country, reports CBC.

Smokers will pay about CAD 0.04 (USD 0.03) more in taxes for each cigarette, for a total of CAD 0.34. The tax rate on loose tobacco will increase by almost 74 per cent. There will be CAD 0.21 more tax per gram of loose tobacco, for a total of CAD 47.3 — meaning the taxes for a 200-gram tin will rise from CAD 54.40 to 94.60, the report said.
The latest changes mean the territory will once again have the highest tobacco tax in the country. That’s the goal, N.W.T. Department of Finance spokesperson Matthew Mallon told NWT News/North. Mallon said the goal is to use high taxes as a way to change the behaviour of residents and discourage tobacco use.