Although per capita cigarette consumption in,the U.S. increased rapidly;until about ' 1960, the last four, decades have experienced a, steady-decline in smoking. of this decline has been attributed to the increasing evidence of health hazards associated with smoking. As early as 1953, the American Cancer Society and the,British Medical,Research Council reported.that smoking caused increased mortality rates. By 1964, the Surgeon General had linked smoking to cancer. In the ensuing 15 ye^s, health warnings were ' required to be printed on cigarette packs, and tobacco advertising was limited and eventually banned from broadcast media. ,' Although major tobacco firms. Iqiew that cigarettes were • addictive by the early 1960s, theydid not release this information to .the public (Glantz, et al. 1995). It was not until 1979 that the Surgeon-.General conclusively stated that^igarettes were addictive. 3y-1986 the Surgeon General reported that cigarette smoking-was the leading preventable cause of premature death and disability in the U.S; During this same time frame, increasing excise taxes'were working in combination with the health warmngs to .diminish aggregate smoking levels