(ABC News) Higher cigarette taxes may be financially hurting low-income smokers rather than making them more likely to quit, according to a new survey by researchers at RTI International.
The survey, which looked at more than 13,000 people living in New York state, found that lower-income smokers in the state spent nearly a quarter of their household income on cigarettes compared with an average 2 percent spent by wealthier New York smokers.
The national average spent by lower- income smokers – those with a household income under $25,000 — was 14 percent, according to the study