The study by researchers at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Rockville, Md., also found that a similar tax of 20 cents per pack would save more than a million lives over 40 years.

The research is the first to examine the impact of increasing cigarette prices on death rates from smoking. It also analyzed the impact of increased prices on smoking rates, which has been previously studied by other researchers.

"The effect of this tax, combined with more public places becoming smoke-free and fewer cigarettes being sold to minors, may prevent even more premature deaths from tobacco," said David Levy, Ph.D., a senior scientist at the Pacific Institute.

The study appears in the September issue of Preventive Medicine.

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