Smoking bans, taxes encourage quitting, study finds

Higher taxes on cigarettes and laws banning public smoking both induce people to give up the habit, but bans work better, according to a study led by an Ohio State University sociology professor. Mike Vuolo, an assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State who led the study, said another important finding is that bans have their greatest effect on casual, or social, smokers — offering the opportunity to turn them into nonsmokers before they become addicted.