I beg to differ with you. Most smokers,law abiding in all other ways,will avoid paying taxes on cigarettes even if they are breaking the law.
The reason for this attitude is that smokers are being banned from most public places in many states and then they are being heavily overtaxed.
What other product do you know that is taxed as much as 100% ?
Smokers are politically incorrect so they are fair game----I just hope coffee drinking doesn't become "unpopular" in the next few years or the price could double on that too.
We have already had huge increases in cigarette taxes in the midwest, the east coast, California, etc. and most smokers in those states keep on paying whatever increase the tax is.
Only a few smokers seem to either quit, or roll their own, but the overwelming majority, keep buying state taxed cigarettes regardless of how high the tax is.
So, if a states again raises the cigarette tax again and again, there is no reason to think that smokers will all of a sudden break the law - they havent so far, so why would they start?
What is the tax in NY? $6? and they still keep paying it, so if there is another $6 tax, it will just be be more of the same.
It is like 30 years ago when new cars sold for $2000 , each time an increase happened, lots of people said they would never buy a new car that cost over $3000, or over $5000, or over $10,000, etc, but each time they did.