Answer:
This is a complicated one. I would say that, in general, cigarettes are elastic in nature, but consumers that are dependent on nicotine (a chemical component of cigarettes) have inelastic demand. For those dependent on cigarettes, the individual elasticity is inelastic. I would say that the market elasticity is elastic (market elasticity is the overall elasticity of the entire good/service across different companies and consumers in a given market).
A good or service is elastic when demand is very respondent to a change of price. To show that a product is elastic, the percent change of DEMAND is greater than the percent change of PRICE. For people that casually smoke, for instance, they may be more respondent to a higher price and want less quantity of demand. In economic terms, that means that QUANTITY DEMANDED is lowered.
However, when consumers are dependent on the product, such as cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs, they are generally more inelastic in demand. This is because their dependency for the good/service is similar for them as food. Inelastic demand features a percentage change of PRICE greater than the percent change of DEMAND.
Hope this helps, this was a complex one!