I've always suspected that the reduction in smoking rates was due to primarily people finding out that smoking was harmful and people valuing their health more

I've always suspected that the reduction in smoking rates was due to primarily people finding out that smoking was harmful and people valuing their health more rather than the taxes imposed. The Per Capita Cigarette Consumption chart seems to affirm this as large federal taxes were imposed in mid-2000s, well after the decline has begun (although taxes were imposed earlier than that). In New York, cigarette prices are well above $10 which seems very high to me, especially considering that the average smoker tends to be in a lower income demographic. I'm surprised I don't often hear the argument that cigarette taxes are ineffective in curbing consumption but actually act as a regressive tax on the marginal members of society. I also find it perplexing that FDA is considering stricter regulation on menthol cigarettes in particular. Don't know if it has anything to do with demographic that tends to smoke them. Seems very targeted to me. The saddest part of high cigarette taxes is that it encourages a lot of low income New Yorkers to enter the black market (e.g. Eric Garner, a Staten Island resident killed by police when confronted about selling illegal untaxed cigarettes). Menthol Cigarettes: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/health/fda-takes-steps-toward-ruling-on-menthol-cigarettes.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/health/fda-takes-steps-tow... Allen Garner: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/eric-garner-staten-island-police-chokehold-case-to-go-to-grand-jury.html http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/eric-garner-state...