Fewer cigarettes were sold in Anchorage last year, according to municipal officials.

KTUU reports the municipality took in $1.6 million less than projected in tobacco taxes last year.

Overall, the city collected just over $21 million in taxes.

The city instituted a 75-cent-per-pack tax at the start of 2011, and chief fiscal officer Lucinda Mahoney says fewer cigarettes were sold last year.

Local cigarette sellers say this doesn't necessarily mean smoking is on the decline. Instead, they say, more people might be driving north to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to purchase cigarettes and avoid the higher municipal tax.