What would happen to the US economy if smoking were made illegal? [View All]

[Phillycat]

No, I'm not interested in having yet another thread about smoking vs nonsmoking. I am interested in the economics of the question. The federal, state, and local governments continue to pass laws that make smoking difficult and inconvenient for smokers, yet they haven't tried to make it illegal.

(I'm also not interested in a discussion about the merits of banning substances and what happened during Prohibition and how it doesn't work anyway. I want to know about the ECONOMICS of it.)

How much money do the tobacco companies contribute to the GNP? And we all know they contribute to Republican politics. Is tobacco a cash crop that the US economy needs to stay afloat? Do we sell it overseas? Is it an important export? Does the stock market rise and fall significantly based on how the tobacco companies fare?

I'm not an economist, but I am curious about this. Thanks.