While i think these things have a much smaller effect than people give them credit to over time, i can agree that it may contribute to a significant effect over a long time when you include the effects of other things. They at the very least represent a shift in the public's view.
We saw a huge cultural shift in how newer generations viewed smoking and other things such as drink driving just in the last 20-30 years. This wasn't achieved by raising taxes but anti-drink drive campaigns, anti smoking campaigns and it took several years before we saw real significant effects.
I remember the fairly shocking and sometimes horrifically graphic TV campaigns against drink driving and smoking. As peoples opinions started to change and the severity of these actions increased, we clamped down on things such as selling alcohol cigarettes to minors, we increased the smoking age, introduced a smoking ban, we introduced harsher sentencing for drink drivers. Introducing these changes were far easier for the public to swallow, in fact after seeing an advert of a little girl un-breaking in slow motion as a car crash is played backwards, the public welcomed these changes with open arms.
