A recent legislation prohibited smoking in restaurants and bars but is unclear yet how it will affect their revenues. Researchers reported that the Jan. 2, 2010 ban and the state and federal tax hike in 2009 will keep an estimated 89,000 children a year from starting to smoke tobacco products.

Added to a state tobacco-free schools and hospitals legislation already in place, this new smoking ban urged the state prevention group to up its N.C. size for prevention tobacco use.

In general, tobacco and money have been joined at the hip in North Carolina for more than three centuries.

For example big tobacco money in North Carolina, American Tobacco Company’s James B. Duke in Durham and R.J. Reynolds in Winston Salem, made work for the people and helped build universities, hospitals, and a banking and transport industry. Joined by Virginia-based tobacco giant Phillip Morris, which purchased and manufactured here - North Carolina ranked and still ranks, first in the U.S. in tobacco production.

As a farm useable, tobacco profited for 7 percent of North Carolina’s $9.75 billion agriculture economy in 2008, less than half the 15.5 percent of total harvest value in 2005.

While a bit now of what it formerly was, Tobacco Industry remains an establishment that continues to bring money to the state. The per pack federal tax on cigarettes increased from 39 cents to $1.01 in 2009 and North Carolina increased the tax another 10 cents from 35 cents to 45 cents, still leaving the state ranked 44th in joined cigarette tax.

For example, New York City has the highest combined federal, state and local tax rate at $4.25, with Chicago second at $3.66 per pack. New Jersey at $3.58 and Massachusetts at $3.52 are highest for combined federal and state tax.

Thanks to high cigarettes taxes, the government revenue for health care, particularly for children raised.

Statistics show that one in four North Carolinians between 22 and 55 smokes and about one in three young people between 18 and 24 do so.

According to previous studies, when the federal tax increase kicked in last spring, cigarette manufacturers said that a previous 10 percent increase cut consumption by about 4 percent.

But researchers hope that the new tax hike will encourage about 1 million of the country’s 45 million adult smokers to quit.