Numbers: Sep. 13, 1999

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$2.65 Projected price of a pack of U.S. cigarettes by 2000; 12.8% of it will be federal tax

$6.25 Price of a pack of cigarettes in Britain; 80% of it is tax

17% Drop in cigarette sales in Alaska after hiking the state tax from 29[cents] to $1

500% Increase in enrollments in the film class at the University of Central Florida that the creators of The Blair Witch Project took, since last year

5% Decrease in applications to medical schools in 1998 compared with 1997

1,966 Annual hours worked per person in the U.S. in 1997, up from 1,883 in 1980

1,889 Hours worked per person in Japan in 1995, down from 2,121 in 1980

$5.7 million Amount bid for a kidney in an online auction before eBay yanked the offer as illegal

42,907 People on the U.S. waiting list for a kidney transplant as of Sept. 1

Sources: Wall Street Journal, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, New York Times, Tobacco Manufacturers' Association, AP Online; Daily News, New York Times; International Labor Organization; Los Angeles Times, United Network for Organ Sharing