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We're probably talking past eachother. Nobody denies that California is collecting a lot of money on tobacco taxes. What I'm telling you is that the state is taking a net loss averaging 300 million per year due to an estimated 20% of sales going "underground" (internet, black market, cross-border, etc). This is a huge loss of revenue and the percentage of Californians spending their tobacco dollar off the tax man's radar is growing. The democrats in Sacramento are going to boost the cost per pack up to about $8 (= NYC price) in an effort to compensate for these losses. They are also making noises about "stepped up enforcement" on excise tax collection. But neither of these stop gaps can succeed. At $8 per pack, very few people will be able to buy from California retailers and the percentage of those buying by out-of-state mail order, etc. will spike dramatically. IOW, California is rapidly reaching the point of diminishing returns and out-of-state retailers are already mass mailing their fliers. I've received a couple of them in just the past two months or so. Why would anybody pay $8 for a pack at the corner store when he can just pick up the phone and have them delivered to his door for $1-$3 per pack?

Why would anybody pay $8 for a pack at the corner store when he can just pick up the phone and have them delivered to his door for $1-$3 per pack?

Shopping cheap is the American Way. Why do they fault us for this? And what did the lawmakers figure when they raised cigarette taxes through the roof. That we would continue to pay it? I don't THINK so, especially when the United States is huge, and we can get overnight Express a lot cheaper.

You are absolutely right about everything you say.
My point is that it is a tactical victory but a strategic disaster to allow selective taxation at any stage of the prohibition process.