The Texas Legislature is considering new taxes, including a proposed $1 per pack tax on cigarettes. In the past, various issues have been raised in debates on this topic.^1,2 Proponents cite evidence that increased taxes deter young people from using tobacco^3–5 and argue that additional revenues can be used to provide health care services for children and to support smoking prevention programmes.^6,7 Opponents argue that higher tobacco taxes place an unfair burden on smokers in low income groups.^8,9,10

To gain insight into how Texans view new cigarette taxes, data from a statewide telephone survey (random digit dialling of working residential numbers) of 6345 adults were analysed. The survey was conducted between October and December 2004. …