The elasticities of the supply and demand curves in the market for cigarettes affect how much a tax distorts that market.

Elasticities

Measures in economics that indicate how changes in one variable, such as price or income, affect a change in another variable, such as demand or supply.

Demand Curves

A graph showing the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity of that good that buyers are willing to purchase at various prices.

Supply Curves

Diagrams indicating how the quantity of a product offered by sellers varies with price, illustrating market supply dynamics.