Where I live (Europe) tax income through cigarette sales is substantive. Some countries even have refrained from further increasing taxes or lowered the planned

Where I live (Europe) tax income through cigarette sales is substantive. Some countries even have refrained from further increasing taxes or lowered the planned increases on cigarettes because the last raises have caused a drop in tax income. I imagine prohibiting cigarettes would lead to a huge outcry on all sides of the political spectrum fueled by lobbyist decrying the end of the free world. There also would be a large economic impact on all the retailers, logistics companies, promoters, distributors, and addiction management industries (nicotine patches, e-cigarettes, and what not). By "large impact" I mean that they would be gone for good. I guess this would still mean a net win for society and health care costs at large, but those measures are always hard to justify and not a very popular decision to make. That's why politicians tend to refrain from making them.