How far are you willing to go to get cigarettes?

How much of a difference is there between Missouri and Iowa cigarette taxes? That was chosen as Thursday’s story of the day.

In the state of Missouri, cigarette taxes are the lowest in the nation at .17 cents per pack. With eight bordering states (Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska), people are coming from all over to buy cigarettes in the Show-Me-State.

According to state representative, Zachary Wyatt, this is actually helping the state economy at a time when in needs the help.

“When citizens from these eight states come into Missouri to buy our cheaper cigarettes. They're also possibly, they probably are buying possibly their groceries, their any type of commodities they might need, gas. So we're getting an economic benefit from them coming into our state.” Said Wyatt.

Wyatt also said that the cigarette tax hasn’t been raised since 1993. Some lawmakers in the past have tried to raise it, but voters refused to let it happen. There are no plans to raise it anytime soon.

In Iowa, the cigarette tax is a bit more pricy with $1.36 per pack. That is in the middle compared to the rest of the country.

If you are one of those Iowa who cross into the Missouri border to grab a pack of smokes, you better be careful. Only two packs of cigarettes may be brought into the state of Iowa at a time. The penalty for not following the law can include a $200 fine and the seizing of the cigarettes.

Also, if you are trying to get them sent by mail or by the internet, it is in fact illegal to do that without the official Iowa cigarette stamp on it.