Unfortunately there is the niggling problem of addiction. The number of people who will be able to quit because the price went up is probably not going to lower the consumption rate all that much. I have read statistics about the number of people who INTEND to quit going up significantly every time they raise taxes (ie people buying patches, calling quit hotlines, etc), but I have yet to see any numbers suggesting that the number of people who ACTUALLY quit as a direct result is substantial. I didn't quit because of taxes, I was addicted and had no choice but to absorb the additional cost.
Sorry, but if they don't want or need the money....then what are they doing with it? We are talking about copious amounts of money here and it isn't funneled to charities because they don't want it. Awareness my eye. It is claimed that they do it to absorb some of the costs of healthcare for smokers, but the majority of people who die from cigarette related illness do so before retirement age and medicare eligibility....and Uncle Sam has never covered any of my healthcare costs. IMO yes there are costs associated with healthcare that do end up covered by government but I believe these taxes are also about covering their behinds when they've overspent budgets that have nothing to do with tobacco.
They can have that mess anyway, thank goodness I have no plans to pick up another cigarette. I wish the media wouldn't associate this man's arrest with vaping. He wasn't arrested for using an e-cig, he was arrested for being belligerent with staff on an airplane-which everyone knows will now land you in trouble as it is considered a security issue. Anyone with any habit or none at all can act like that, it happens all the time and doesn't make headlines.