Taxes levied on the sale, manufacture or use of specific items such as liquor, cigarettes, and gasoline are known as selective sales taxes, as well as excise taxes.
So, there aren't taxes on a whole bunch of products, but rather on a selected few, which (in the case of alcohol and cigarettes) are considered detrimental to the society and thus people who want to use them have to pay a little bit more in order to have that commodity.