Q: I am surprised that cigarettes are $10 a carton cheaper at Nellis AFB, Nevada, and MacDill AFB, Florida, and several other bases I have visited than they are at Hill AFB. I was told today that the state “regulates” the price. How can Utah regulate the price on a federal reservation?

A: Exchange tobacco pricing varies from location to location. Pricing is determined by local market surveys that are conducted monthly of convenience, drug, mass and club stores, which are performed at each Exchange. The surveys compare shelf prices, which include all relevant taxes with the exception of sales tax paid at the point of sale and set the price at parity with lowest price surveyed.