Cigarettes were taxed at every step of their process.

The tobacco was taxed separately, and the paper, and the mouthpiece, and on the finished product an additional tax was put.

There was no tax on the smoke.

The Czar must have overlooked it.
Business really did not pay when the price of goods was so swollen by taxes that the people could not buy.

The only way to make business pay was to cheat--cheat the Government of part of the duties.