Sky-High European Cigarette Taxes Drive Thriving Black Market

The framing emphasizes unintended negative consequences of taxation policy—using language like 'sky-high' (pejorative) and 'thriving' (energizing illicit activity)—to suggest government intervention backfires. The article centers concerns about regulatory overreach rather than public health justifications for taxes. Reason's libertarian editorial perspective opposes state intervention; this headline-driven framing presumes taxation efficacy is undermined without examining counterarguments about long-term health outcomes or tax revenue effectiveness.

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• This article does not address public health outcomes in high-tax vs. low-tax jurisdictions
• This article does not address revenue generated by cigarette taxes for healthcare systems
• This article does not address the health benefits of reduced smoking rates despite black-market presence