Once again, the answer from traditional economics
is no. As postulated in a highly influential
article by Becker and Murphy (1988), “rational
addicts” understand that each cigarette they smoke
today increases their addiction, leading them to
smoke more tomorrow. As a result, when they buy
a pack of cigarettes, they consider not only the
cost of that pack but also the cost of all additional future packs that will now
be purchased because their addiction has deepened. Moreover, the smoker
understands that lighting up doesn’t just reduce health through the current
cigarette but through all the future cigarettes that will be consumed as a result
of that addiction. If the smoker consumes the cigarette anyway, then this is a
rational choice, and does not call for government intervention.