I don't really see this as a step to prevent people from buying cigarettes - like Strawberry_shisha said. Even for people who are already addicted but don't earn enough to make decent savings; they will find ways. One of my old-friends, who's a smoker of 2 packs a day, said (when his government increased the taxes, yet again) that he'll definitely reduce buying cigarettes but will get them off his better-off friends (a shift only in terms of the source, quantity remains).