Smokers face tax increases, bans, health concerns and social stigma worldwide, but the effect of those on cigarette demand generally is less stark outside the United States.
As states and the federal government have passed laws making it more difficult to sell cigarettes by raising taxes and putting more restrictions on sales, cigarette companies actually payout less money from that settlement.
But even as Washington tightens its regulatory grip over the existing cigarette lines, it seems less and less likely that the tobacco firms are going to be able to fulfill their half of the aspiration enshrined in the legislation.