If you smoke cigarettes, get ready to cough up more of your money: An increase in the federal tobacco tax is set for April 1. But many smokers are paying a lot more for cigarettes weeks before the increase actually goes into effect.

Over the past two days, the price of many brands like Marlboro shot upwards from $6 to $7 a pack, with cartons well over $50.

At Midway Tobacco in St. Paul, manager Gus Saif is not a popular guy these days.

"I’ve pretty much been getting cussed out all day," he said about his customer’s sticker shock.

The price of most cigarettes skyrocketed 20 percent literally overnight.

At Wal-Mart, a pack of Marlboro’s just went up Tuesday to $7.01.

To help fund children's health programs, Congress approved an increase in federal tobacco tax. While it doesn’t go into effect until next month, Phillip Morris jumped the gun.

Effective Tuesday, the company increased it's prices on 19 brands by nearly a dollar a pack. Company officials said they made the change to cover the cost of the impending tax increase, but wouldn’t say why they did so a month out. Other tobacco companies said they would follow suit within days.

A pack a day even at $5 will now add up to more than $1,800 a year.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with more than a dozen smokers. While none knew about the price increase, they each had the same answer: "I think I’m going to quit."