Tax; liability of consumer or user; collection

The impact of the tax levied by Chapter 77, article 26, is hereby declared to be on the vendee, user, consumer, or possessor of cigarettes in this state, and when such tax is paid by any other person, such payment shall be construed as an advance payment, and shall thereafter be added to the price of the cigarettes and recovered from the ultimate consumer or user. In making sales of cigarettes in this state, a wholesaler or jobber may separately state and show upon the invoice covering such sale the amount of the tax on cigarettes sold. The tax shall be evidenced by appropriate stamps attached to each package of cigarettes sold, and the tax shall be collected by the retailer from the user or consumer. The provisions of this section shall in no way affect the method of collection of such tax on cigarettes as now provided by existing law.