New Yorkers who smoke and tan were twice burned yesterday. With both the federal 10 percent tanning tax and the new $1.60 per-pack state surcharge on cigarettes now in effect, those addicted to nicotine and UV rays fear they may have to choose between bronzed skin and blackened lungs.
"How can they tax me for trying to be pretty?" said Jenna Goldschmidt, 19, an FIT student who tans three times a week and smokes a half-pack a day.
"I am going to have to cut one or the two, or I will have to switch off. One week tan, one week smoke," she said.
The new sin taxes will add $30 to her monthly cigarette budget and $40 to her tanning costs.
"Everyone likes to look pretty -- and when I get stressed I need smoke. I need both," she said.
As for doubling her cancer risks, Goldschmidt said she wasn't worried.
"I am one of those girls who is invincible," she said.
Anticipating the fees, regulars at the Beach Bum tanning salon on the Upper East Side paid their $200 to $300 monthly fees by Wednesday, said Jah Muhammad, a sales associate.
"They bought the packages and didn't stay to tan. They just did it to get it in before the tax took effect," Muhammad said.
Some women considered their tanning and smoking habits so important they were willing eliminate other expenses to compensate.
"I might cut back on money I spend on my hair and nails to make up for it," said Tina Najda, 20, of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
"A session on the best machine for the longest time would be $30-$35," she said. "I tan two or three times a week. With cigarettes and tanning that's a lot of money."
Although the taxes are intended to both discourage unhealthy behavior, smoking tanners insist they will keep darkening and lighting up.
"I won't cut down until they are $20 a pack. If they were $50 a pack people would still pay," Najda said.
Amy Kola, 25, a hairdresser from Astoria, Queens, who smokes and tans, said government should find other ways to generate revenue.
"Someone who smokes and tans is just going to keep doing it," she said.
Poster Comment:
"I am one of those girls who is invincible," she said.
Sure you are. Everyone is at 19. But when you get a bit older then all of a sudden your "invincibility shield" has quit working and you become prey to all manner of illnesses that you used to believe would never touch you.