Sure, and tobacco and alcohol taxes only do a mild job in curbing consumption - the collectors of the excise taxes are designed and marketed to draw people in.<p>A &#x27;sin tax&#x27; really only operates at the margin and are -clearly- not effective at stopping people with a dependence on the &#x27;sin&#x27;.  At most it encourages under-consumption with people who only have a mild tendency to use that product.