Raising cigarette taxes seems to make Americans drink a little less beer and hard liquor.

On a national level, the effect is relatively modest. A 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes leads to a 1 percent decrease in per capita alcohol consumption.

But states with the highest prices and most restrictive anti-smoking policies, such as New York and Illinois, saw the greatest declines.

Smoking and drinking often go together. Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to drink alcohol, and heavy smokers are more likely to be heavy drinkers. But while raising cigarette taxes and implementing smoking bans are known to deter smoking, it hasn’t been clear how such policies affect alcohol use.