This article, also from the Economist, gives a bit more insight into the nature of so-called "sin taxes." 

Some pretty morbid, but interesting facts here.

"Advocates of taxes on vices such as smoking and obesity argue that they also impose negative externalities on the public, since governments have to spend more to take care of sick people. However, policy papers tend to overstate the economic costs of activities like smoking because they rarely account for what would happen without them. Although unhealthy people tend to cost governments more money while they are alive, this is at least partially offset by the morbid fact that they tend to die earlier, and so draw less from services like pensions.

Different vices have different economic costs since they harm people in different ways. Save for the exceptionally overweight, most obese people do not die much earlier. But they do tend to require more medical attention than their healthier peers, often spanning the course of several decades. So obesity does impose net costs on taxpayers."


https://www.economist.com/international/2018/07/26/sin-taxes-eg-on-tobacco-are-less-efficient-than-they-look