Per Capita cigarette consumption peaked in 1975 at about 145 packages (20 per pack) and by 2011 had plummeted to 48.5 packs or two thirds the per person peak level.

FORBES: Altria Group: E-Cigarettes Or Die?

Tobacco company Philip Morris USA raised list prices for its major brands by about 71 cents per pack last month "in direct response to the tax increase, " said Bill Phelps, spokesman for Philip Morris' parent company, Altria.

CNN: Smokers feeling abused as federal tax hike hits

But a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the financial impact of a 50-cent-per-pack increase in cigarette taxes shows that while cutting the number of smokers trims government outlays over the short run, the increased longevity and higher end-of-life expenses of non-smokers eventually would cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars more from Medicare and Social Security.

FORBES: Fewer Smokers Means Higher Taxpayer Costs, Study Finds

While Ballmer was guardedly optimistic about the economy, he faces a traumatized organization unless he can go up against this many cheaper competitors and win share, while keeping his revenues per employee above the rest of the pack.

FORBES: Microsoft? Big. Hard.

The United States led the pack, reporting 23 hours of TV and six hours of movies per week.

CNN: Doug Gross,

Billy Andrade, champion here in 1998, led a pack of players two shots behind at 66 that included Neal Lancaster, Greg Chalmers and Sweden's Per-Ulrik Johansson.

BBC: Waite out in front