Tobacco Underground is a project of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Working with reporters in more than a dozen countries, ICIJ is charting the frontlines of the illicit traffic in cigarettes. In coming months, look for new stories on this ever-shifting trade, from the underground factories of China and America’s Indian reservations to the lawless border lands of northwest Pakistan and southeast Paraguay.

When government raises taxes on a particular product or bans it outright, what do they think is going to happen? It seems we haven't yet learned the lessons of Prohibition.

Back then, bible thumpers like Billie Sunday and Carrie Nation claimed that getting rid of alcohol would cure all kinds of social ills and create a heaven on earth. It had the opposite effect. Not only did Prohibition give rise to organized crime figures like Al Capone and Dutch Schultz, it showed that the public has no problem breaking the law when they see the law as wrong.

Fast forward to present day. See any similarities? Curing social ills and creating a better society have been replaced by "protecting children" and "saving lives."

Smuggling is emerging or on the rise in many areas of the country as taxes increase and the talk of banning smoking becomes more hysterical.

A sign of things to come?