Given the high co-occurrence of tobacco and alcohol use, researchers have hypothesized that the public health benefits of tobacco-related policies may extend beyond smoking-related outcomes to impact drinking behaviors. For example, several recent studies demonstrated that smoking bans in public places are associated with reductions in alcohol consumption and a reduced likelihood of alcohol use disorders over time (Kasza et al., 2012; McKee et al., 2009; Young-Wolff et al., 2013). It is possible that eliminating opportunities to drink and smoke concurrently in public places accounted for the beneficial public health influence of smoking bans on drinking behaviors. Although cigarette taxation is less directly associated with drinking behaviors compared to tobacco legislation enacted in drinking venues, the success of cigarette taxation as a tobacco control strategy, and the degree of association between alcohol and tobacco use, suggest that the public health benefits of cigarette taxation may also extend beyond smoking to alcohol-related outcomes. However, surprisingly little attention has been allocated to the impact of cigarette taxation on drinking behaviors, and extant evidence indicates that increases in cigarette taxes are associated with
