Philip Morris will snuff out cigarette plant a year early.

As if a jobless rate of 11.3% weren't bad enough, Cabarrus County faces the loss of about 1,100 jobs more than a year earlier than expected. Philip Morris USA Inc. now says it will close its cigarette factory in Concord by the end of July. It blamed dwindling demand likely to be accelerated by the federal excise tax on cigarettes, which increased 158% April 1 to $1.01 a pack. Nearly two years ago, Philip Morris...