are what they are commonly known as - and I agree with you, they are ridiculously high for tobacco. If I'm not mistaken, the taxes for alcohol are much less, given that both products are bad for one's health - arguably alcohol probably causes more societal damage than tobacco ever did or does. The rationale often given is that people won't start smoking and/or will be "encouraged" to quit if a pack of smokes costs far more. Ha! it's very addictive, and making it prohibitively expensive mostly affects the poorer people - who of course make a larger percentage of the smoking populace anyway ! But it looks good "on paper" and it's hard for a public official to go against something that's supposed to help their constituents.
I think it would be far more effective to put a tax on something like fried chicken, cheeseburgers, ice cream and any other dubious nutrition choices. Maybe a small, like 3% "sin" tax on all fast food? We'd have enough money from _that_ to fix a lot of health problems caused by overweight, clogged arteries, etc.
that are caused by poor diet, lack of exercise, etc. What a concept, eh?
Sadly, that idea has been floated before and never went anywhere...
Rick " but don't tax Pizza, please! I know it's bad for me, but I just love it too much! And besides, it ain't that fast" Jones

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic