Higher taxes and prices for cigarettes are strongly associated with lower infant mortality rates in the United States, according to a new study from Vanderbilt University and the University of Michigan released Dec. 1 in the journal Pediatrics. Researchers found that for every $1 tax increase per pack of cigarettes, about two infant deaths were averted each day. Overall, there was an estimated 3.2 percent decrease in annual infant mortality rates, or 750 fewer infant deaths per year, associated with the tax increase, the study revealed.
— source sciencedaily.com