Two-Thirds of Voters Favor a $1 Tax Hike on a Pack of Cigarettes

Over the past decade, there's no doubt that public policy has helped reduce the number of people who smoke. Laws prohibiting smoking in certain areas, tighter regulation of commercials and higher taxes on smokes have all stopped people from lighting up. While cigarette makers have often found ways around the different laws, at the end of the day, Big Tobacco can't escape the facts. Lowering smoking rates reduces cancer deaths as well as deaths from other diseases and increases the life expectancy of typical Americans.