Raising the tax on smoking> Hmmm?

Mike Bloomberg is raising the tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack, bringing NYC cigs to 8 dollars a pack, the highest price in the county. According to Duke University, the cost of a pack of cigarettes over a smokers life time is something like $40 a pack. Only a buck and change per pack would be paid by society at large and the article also says that because smokers live shorter lives they draw less money out of Social Security, making smoking a net money saver for society. So the facts point to letting people smoke away their lives. Maybe they have it right in Europe.
I guess this comes down to whether you think the government should prevent people from doing foolish things. I personally think the best way of dealing with smoking is banning it in public spaces, as in restaurants, bars, etc... As long as I don't have to deal with it, physically and fiscally, let them smoke. What are your thoughts?