If the goal was to prevent people smoking, just put it behind a prescription or something. That way the people who cannot quit smoking, which is a very strong medical addiction, can still exist without paying exorbitant costs. But there’s still a deterrent for anyone to start smoking, and it changes public perception of the habit. You also have to convince a doctor to give you the script, which any good doctor will not prescribe cigarettes to a 16 year old who never smoked before.

This “sin tax” bullshit can fuck off. It doesn’t actually work or help anyone, as evidenced by the tobacco industry still being obscenely lucrative. Most people I know who used to smoke, still smoke. It’s not something you can stop just because it gets expensive, that’s not how addiction works.

If the focus was actually on public health, there are many better options, I’ve only listed one possible alternative. The true goal is and always will be money. The government makes a shit load of sin tax dollars, and the tobacco industry has a captured and addicted market so they don’t really care what the final price is.