In the USA and most of the industrialised world, tobacco use is highest among those with the lowest socioeconomic status (SES). While levels of education, income, and occupation are often used to define SES; gender, race, and ethnicity often intersect with these traditional measures as important additional characteristics of low SES. Women and people of various racial and ethnic minorities are well represented among those of low SES, who as a group suffer the most from tobacco related health disparities. Those of low SES tend to have high rates of smoking and low rates of quitting success, are likely to suffer disproportionately from tobacco related deaths, and have children who are likely to start smoking.^1–3

Tobacco control policies aimed at reducing the toll of tobacco addiction have been promoted across the USA and elsewhere. Although there is evidence suggesting that smokefree workplace policies have reduced overall secondhand smoke exposure, and tobacco taxes have been found to reduce the prevalence of smoking in the general population, little is known regarding the impact of such tobacco control policies …