If Rhode Island raises the cigarette tax, will smokers quit? Not really.

Gallivanting to Attleboro is the low-effort way for Rhode Islanders to evade the state’s cigarette tax. In Massachusetts, you’ll pay $3.51 in tax for a 20-pack of cigarettes. In Rhode Island, you’ll pay $4.25 for the same — the fourth highest cigarette tax in the nation, outpaced only by Connecticut ($4.35), Washington, D.C. ($4.50) and New York ($5.35). The state’s rank would climb to second place under Gov. Dan McKee’s proposed budget for fiscal 2025. McKee is calling to raise the tax by another 25 cents, starting Sept. 1, 2024, a move that would squeeze out an extra $2.4 million in state revenue.