Among my colleagues in the public health and addiction fields, I am nearly alone in disliking President Obama's proposed doubling of federal cigarette taxes. My reservations stem from the hard lessons of America's policy towards illegal drugs.
As recently noted by drug policy expert Dr. Peter Reuter, anti-tobacco advocates see the smoking rate as the only index of public policy success. When it goes down -- as it virtually always will in response to higher taxes -- they cheer unreservedly. I passionately want more Americans to kick the smoking habit. But I worry about how extremely high tobacco taxes expand black markets, which in turn can trigger draconian law enforcement responses.
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