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State officials say a voter-approved increase in Oklahoma's cigarette tax reduced the number of cigarettes sold and motivated many smokers to cut back or quit.
The Oklahoma State Health Department funded a study conducted by Oklahoma State University. OSU professor Josh Wiener says the results of the research show that increasing the tobacco tax saves lives by reducing smoking.
The tax hike that took effect January 1st, 2005 increased the cigarette tax from 23 cents to $1.03 per pack.
The study found that cigarette sales fell by 47 million packs afterward, from 356 million packs sold in fiscal year 2004 to 309 million packs sold in fiscal year 2006.
About 35 percent of smokers in the study said the price increase encouraged them to quit.
Smokers with annual incomes below $50,000 were the most affected by the increase.
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