Nearly half (48.3%) of the population believes that increases in tobacco taxes are justified; the proportion of people who consider tax increases justified varies according to smoking status: from 18.7% among smokers of 10 or more cigarettes per day to 62.4% among people who have never smoked; Between 2005 and 2018, the proportion of people who consider tobacco tax increases justified changed little (from 51.4% to 48.3%); In 2018, 43.6% of smokers reported that tax increases motivated them to quit smoking. Among former daily smokers, 39.8% stated that this factor was a motivation for their decision to quit; In 2018, socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers reported being just as motivated to quit due to tax increases as their more advantaged counterparts; These results reinforce the legitimacy of tobacco taxes in France as part of a comprehensive tobacco control policy that also includes smoking cessation support measures.