Carton of Cigarettes: How Many Packs, How Big, and What Sets the Price

The short answer

• A carton of cigarettes holds 10 packs.
• A standard US pack holds 20 cigarettes, so a carton holds 200 cigarettes.
• What a carton costs depends mostly on where you buy it. Retail prices are set by sellers and change often, but the taxes inside the price are public. Every carton sold in the US carries $10.07 in federal excise tax. State excise tax adds anywhere from $1.70 per carton in Missouri to $53.50 per carton in New York (rates as of July 2026). Some cities and counties add their own tax on top, and most states also charge sales tax.

So the same carton can cost several times more in one state than in another, and most of that gap is tax.

A note on health: This guide explains how cigarette packaging, sizing and pricing work. It is not encouragement to smoke. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Free, confidential help to quit is available at smokefree.gov or by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). CustomPacka does not sell tobacco products.

How many cigarettes are in a pack and a carton?

Twenty is the standard US pack. It is also the legal minimum: under FDA rules at 21 CFR 1140.16(b), manufacturers, distributors and retailers may not sell or distribute packages that contain fewer than 20 cigarettes. That rule ended the small "kiddie packs" of 10 that were once common, and it means retailers cannot break open a pack to sell single cigarettes ("loosies").

Some countries use different counts. Packs of 19, 20, 23 and 25 exist in the UK, Europe and Australia, and cartons of 8 or 10 packs vary by market. If you are reading this outside the US, check the count printed on the pack.

Why 20 to a pack and 10 to a carton?

Twenty fits neatly into a compact rectangle: three rows of 7, 6 and 7 cigarettes, the staggered arrangement you see when you open a hard pack. Ten packs fit into two layers of five, which makes a carton that is long, flat and easy to stack on store shelves and in wholesale cases. Tax stamps, store pricing and wholesale cases have been built around those counts for decades, so they rarely change.

Carton and pack dimensions

Packaging sizes vary by brand, pack style and cigarette length. These are typical approximate outside dimensions for US packs:

A king size carton is roughly 11 × 3.6 × 1.9 inches outside (about 28 × 9 × 5 cm): ten packs in two layers of five, wrapped in a paperboard sleeve. A 100s carton is the same length and depth but taller, about 4.2 inches.

How much does a carton weigh?

A cigarette weighs roughly 0.7 to 1 gram including the filter and paper. Twenty cigarettes plus the pack, foil liner and film make a pack of roughly 25 to 30 grams (about 1 ounce). A full carton, with its own board and wrap, typically weighs about 10 to 11 ounces (280 to 320 grams). A 50-carton wholesale case weighs around 30 to 35 pounds.

Cigarette size chart

Cigarettes are classified mainly by length, with diameter as a second measure.

Diameter is often written as circumference in the industry: a standard cigarette is about 24–25 mm around, a slim about 17 mm. Filter length is commonly 20–27 mm.

Size matters for packaging because the pack, its inner frame, the foil liner and the carton are all built around one cigarette length and diameter. A brand cannot put 100s into a king size pack.

What makes up the price of a carton

A carton's shelf price stacks several layers:

1. Manufacturer's price. What the tobacco company charges wholesalers, which includes costs from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement for participating manufacturers.
2. Federal excise tax. $50.33 per 1,000 cigarettes, which works out to $1.0066 per pack or $10.07 per carton. It has not changed since April 2009.
3. State excise tax. Collected through tax stamps applied to every pack. It ranges from $0.17 to $5.35 per pack.
4. Local excise tax. Some cities and counties add their own, New York City and Chicago being well-known examples.
5. Wholesale and retail margin. Many states have minimum-price ("unfair sales") laws that require a minimum markup, so cigarettes cannot be sold below a set floor.
6. Sales tax. Most states also apply general sales tax at the register.

That is why a carton is not simply "ten times a cheap pack" everywhere. In states with minimum-price laws, discounts on cartons are limited. Elsewhere, some retailers price cartons slightly below ten single packs.

The tax in a carton, state by state

The table below shows the excise tax only, using state rates as of July 2026 published by the Tax Foundation, plus the $10.07 federal tax. It does not include local taxes, sales tax, or the product's own price, so the real shelf price is always higher.

Across the 50 states, the median state rate is $1.90 per pack, about $19 per carton before federal tax. Rates change when legislatures act, so check your state revenue department for the current figure.

Why prices differ so much between neighboring states

Tax gaps between neighbors can reach $3 or more per pack, or $30+ per carton. That gap is why state tax stamps exist: every legal pack must carry the stamp of the state where it is sold, showing the tax was paid. Carrying cartons across state lines does not avoid tax. Many states require residents to pay the difference as a use tax, limit how many untaxed cartons a person may bring in, and treat large quantities as contraband. Federal law treats more than 10,000 cigarettes (50 cartons) without proper state tax stamps as contraband, and the PACT Act restricts mailing cigarettes and requires remote sellers to collect taxes and verify age.

How cigarette packaging is built

A pack is a precise piece of packaging engineering, made at speeds of hundreds of packs per minute on dedicated machines.

The hard pack (hinge-lid or flip-top)

• Outer shell: a printed paperboard blank, folded and glued around the bundle. Boards are bright, smooth folding boxboard or solid bleached board chosen for flat, crisp printing and stiff corners.
• Inner frame (collar): a separate paperboard piece glued inside the opening, which keeps the lid closing with a click and the bundle from sliding.
• Inner liner: metallized or foil-laminated paper wrapped around the 20 cigarettes to protect freshness and aroma.
• Overwrap: a thin, clear polypropylene film around the whole pack, with a tear tape to open it.
• Tax stamp: applied to the bottom of the pack in states that use them.

The soft pack

A paper wrap around the foil-lined bundle, open at the top with a torn foil corner. Soft packs use less board and suit cigarette smokers who prefer a pack that conforms to a pocket.

The carton

A paperboard sleeve or tuck-end carton that holds ten packs in two layers of five, often overwrapped in film. Cartons carry the brand design, barcodes, the required warning and manufacturer details, and are packed 50 to a corrugated wholesale case.

How packs are printed

Because runs are enormous and color must match across billions of packs, most cigarette packaging is printed by rotogravure, a high-volume process that engraves the image into a metal cylinder. It reproduces metallic inks, fine gradients and consistent solids very well. Embossing, hot foil stamping and special varnishes are common on premium brands.

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Pack styles compared

The hinge-lid pack was popularized in the mid-twentieth century and is now made on machines that fold, glue and wrap hundreds of packs per minute. Its design, with a separate inner frame giving a positive "click" when the lid closes, is copied in many non-tobacco products, from playing card boxes to premium mint tins made from paperboard.

Why carton prices keep changing

Even without tax changes, shelf prices for cartons move during the year. Manufacturers typically announce list price increases more than once a year, wholesalers and retailers pass those on, and states adjust their minimum-price formulas when costs change. When a state raises its excise tax, the increase usually appears on the shelf immediately, because new stamps must be applied. That is why any carton price you see quoted online goes out of date quickly, while the tax figures in the table above change only when a legislature votes.

Storage and freshness

Cigarettes are dried tobacco wrapped in paper, so they slowly lose moisture and aroma. The foil liner and overwrap slow this down. Cartons kept sealed in a cool, dry place away from direct sun stay closer to their original condition. Heat and dry air speed up staling, and humidity can encourage mold. Packs have production codes rather than consumer "best by" dates.

Cigarette packs around the world

Other countries regulate tobacco packaging much more heavily than the US:

• Plain packaging. Australia introduced plain packaging in 2012: standardized drab brown packs with no logos, only the brand name in a set font. Many other countries, including the UK, France, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada, have since adopted similar laws.
• Graphic warnings. Well over 100 countries require pictorial health warnings, often covering most of the pack's front and back.
• Pack counts. Some countries set minimum pack sizes above 20, or ban small packs, to discourage impulse purchases.

These rules make cigarette packs one of the clearest examples of how packaging design can be regulated to change behavior, the opposite of the branding goals most companies have.

Labeling rules on US cigarette packs

US cigarette packaging is among the most regulated consumer packaging in the world.

Health warnings

Every pack and carton must carry a Surgeon General's warning under the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1333). Manufacturers rotate the required statements on a set schedule.

In 2020, the FDA issued a rule requiring large graphic health warnings covering the top half of the front and back of packs and 20% of advertisements. As of October 2026, that rule is not in effect. Tobacco companies challenged it in several courts. A federal court in Georgia vacated the rule, a decision the FDA has appealed, and in August 2026 the Fifth Circuit upheld an order in Texas postponing its effective date. Until the litigation ends, packs carry the existing text warnings. Anyone designing or regulating tobacco packaging should check the FDA's current guidance.

Other pack rules

• No "light", "mild" or "low" descriptors without FDA authorization. These terms were banned in 2010 because they misled smokers about risk.
• No characterizing flavors other than tobacco and menthol in cigarettes, since 2009.
• Minimum age 21 for all tobacco sales nationwide, under federal law since December 2019 (21 CFR 1140.14).
• Minimum 20 cigarettes per package (21 CFR 1140.16(b)).
• State tax stamps where states require them, plus any state-specific fire-safety (reduced ignition propensity) certification marking.

Recycling and disposal of cigarette packaging

A cigarette pack is mixed material: paperboard, foil-laminated paper and plastic film. Most curbside programs accept clean paperboard cartons but not the foil liner or the film. Remove the film and liner if you want the board to be recycled. Cigarette butts are not recyclable in curbside programs and are a leading item in litter cleanups, because filters are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that persists in the environment.

What packaging designers can learn from cigarette packs

Even if you never work on tobacco, the pack is a masterclass in folding carton engineering:

• Tolerance: the inner frame and lid close with a click because blanks are cut to fractions of a millimeter.
• Shelf blocking: cartons and packs are designed to read as a single brand block when stacked on a back bar.
• Consistent color: gravure printing keeps one brand color identical across billions of units.
• Freshness barrier: the foil liner and overwrap protect aroma, a technique also used for tea, coffee and specialty food cartons.

Those same principles show up in premium tuck end boxes, sleeve boxes and folding cartons for food and cosmetics.

Sources and further reading

Official and reference pages used for this guide. Tax rates and court decisions change, so check the current version before relying on them.

• State cigarette excise tax rates (Tax Foundation): state rates per pack as of July 2026 and the federal rate.
• 21 CFR Part 1140: Cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and covered tobacco products (eCFR): minimum age and minimum package size rules.
• 15 U.S.C. 1333: Labeling (Cornell LII): the statute behind cigarette warning labels.
• Cigarette labeling and health warning requirements (FDA): the FDA's page on current warning requirements.
• Smokefree.gov: free tools and support to quit.

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