Tobacco use has declined sharply since the 1960s, but for the past 20 years about 20 percent of the population has continued to smoke. The imposition of steep tobacco taxes in many states has not lowered the smoking rate.
Now an economist has published an unusual study in the December issue of PLoS One that suggests a reason: About half of the population has a variation in a specific gene connected to nicotine addiction that makes them more likely to respond to cigarette tax increases.
View the original article here: Efficacy of Tobacco Taxes Tied to Gene Type
