scholarly journals Individualised tobacco affordability in the UK 2002–2014: findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. s9-s19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timea R Partos ◽  
J Robert Branston ◽  
Rosemary Hiscock ◽  
Anna B Gilmore ◽  
Ann McNeill

ObjectiveThe existing measures of tobacco affordability (smokers' purchasing power for tobacco) use national estimates of income and average cigarette prices, and exclude roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco. This study developed an individualised measure of tobacco affordability using smokers' own incomes and factory-made (FM) or RYO tobacco purchase prices, and explored how it was impacted by taxation changes, individual characteristics and purchase patterns.DesignCross-sectional survey data collated from 10 waves of a longitudinal cohort study.Data sourcesAdult smokers (n=4062) from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project United Kingdom (UK), surveyed between 2002 and 2014, providing 8943 observations over 10 surveys.AnalysisAffordability was calculated as the percentage of annual income remaining with the individuals after their annual tobacco expenditure. Multilevel linear regression models were used with affordability as the outcome using time, sex, age, geographical region, ethnicity, education, nicotine dependence and tobacco purchase source as the predictor variables.ResultsAffordability of FM cigarettes decreased significantly from 91.5% (±95% CI: 91.0% to 91.9%) in 2002 to 87.8% (87.0% to 88.5%) in 2014; and RYO from 96.3% (95.7% to 96.9%) in 2006 to 93.7% (93.0% to 94.4%) in 2014. Affordability was significantly lower for FM than RYO. Year-on-year decreases were not statistically significant. Tobacco was more affordable for males, those with higher education, less dependent smokers and those purchasing from non-store (potentially illicit) or non-UK sources.ConclusionsAn individualised measure of tobacco affordability provided useful insights on the impact of tobacco taxes, social inequalities and purchase patterns in the UK. Although tobacco became less affordable, the annual rate of decline was low, suggesting annual tax rises were not large enough.

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (suppl 3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Lacerda Mendes ◽  
André Salem Szklo ◽  
Cristina de Abreu Perez ◽  
Tânia Maria Cavalcante ◽  
Geoffrey T. Fong

Resumo: O tabagismo passivo causa sérios e mortais efeitos à saúde. Desde 1996, o Brasil vem avançando na implementação da legislação antifumo em locais públicos fechados. Este artigo busca avaliar a percepção do cumprimento da legislação antifumo nas cidades de Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul), Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo, com base nos resultados da pesquisa ITC-Brasil (International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project). Os resultados desta pesquisa mostraram uma redução significativa da proporção de pessoas que notaram indivíduos fumando em restaurantes e bares entre 2009 e 2013 nas três cidades pesquisadas. Paralelamente, houve um aumento da proporção de fumantes que referiram ter fumado na área externa desses estabelecimentos. Tais resultados provavelmente refletem uma implementação exitosa das leis antifumo. Vale ressaltar que ao diminuir a exposição ao fumo passivo, aumentamos ainda mais a desnormalização do tabagismo na população em geral, podendo assim diminuir sua iniciação e aumentar a cessação de fumar.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (e1) ◽  
pp. e2-e9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Mons ◽  
Gera E Nagelhout ◽  
Shane Allwright ◽  
Romain Guignard ◽  
Bas van den Putte ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. s31-s36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ce Shang ◽  
Hye Myung Lee ◽  
Frank J Chaloupka ◽  
Geoffrey T Fong ◽  
Mary Thompson ◽  
...  

BackgroundRecent studies show that greater price variability and more opportunities for tax avoidance are associated with tax structures that depart from a specific uniform one. These findings indicate that tax structures other than a specific uniform one may lead to more cigarette consumption.ObjectiveThis paper aims to examine how cigarette tax structure is associated with cigarette consumption.MethodsWe used survey data taken from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project in 17 countries to conduct the analysis. Self-reported cigarette consumption was aggregated to average measures for each surveyed country and wave. The effect of tax structures on cigarette consumption was estimated using generalised estimating equations after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, average taxes and year fixed effects.FindingsOur study provides important empirical evidence of a relationship between tax structure and cigarette consumption. We find that a change from a specific to an ad valorem structure is associated with a 6%–11% higher cigarette consumption. In addition, a change from uniform to tiered structure is associated with a 34%–65% higher cigarette consumption. The results are consistent with existing evidence and suggest that a uniform and specific tax structure is the most effective tax structure for reducing tobacco consumption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-140
Author(s):  
Timea R Partos ◽  
Rosemary Hiscock ◽  
Anna B Gilmore ◽  
J Robert Branston ◽  
Sara Hitchman ◽  
...  

Background Increasing tobacco prices through taxation is very effective for reducing smoking prevalence and inequalities. For optimum effect, understanding how the tobacco industry and smokers respond is essential. Tobacco taxation changes occurred in the UK over the study period, including annual increases, a shift in structure from ad valorem to specific taxation and relatively higher increases on roll-your-own tobacco than on factory-made cigarettes. Objectives Understanding tobacco industry pricing strategies in response to tax changes and the impact of tax on smokers’ behaviour, including tax evasion and avoidance, as well as the effect on smoking inequalities. Synthesising findings to inform how taxation can be improved as a public health intervention. Design Qualitative analysis and evidence synthesis (commercial and Nielsen data) and longitudinal and aggregate cross-sectional analyses (International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project data). Setting The UK, from 2002 to 2016. Data sources and participants Data were from the tobacco industry commercial literature and retail tobacco sales data (Nielsen, New York, NY, USA). Participants were a longitudinal cohort (with replenishment) of smokers and ex-smokers from 10 surveys of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (around 1500 participants per survey). Main outcome measures (1) Tobacco industry pricing strategies, (2) sales volumes and prices by segments over time and (3) smokers’ behaviours, including products purchased, sources, brands, consumption, quit attempts, success and sociodemographic differences. Review methods Tobacco industry commercial literature was searched for mentions of tobacco products and price segments, with 517 articles extracted. Results The tobacco industry increased prices on top of tax increases (overshifting), particularly on premium products, and, recently, the tobacco industry overshifted more on cheap roll-your-own tobacco than on factory-made cigarettes. Increasingly, price rises were from industry revenue generation rather than tax. The tobacco industry raised prices gradually to soften impact; this was less possible with larger tax increases. Budget measures to reduce cheap product availability failed due to new cheap factory-made products, price marking and small packs. In 2014, smokers could buy factory-made (roll-your-own tobacco) cigarettes at real prices similar to 2002. Exclusive roll-your-own tobacco and mixed factory-made cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco use increased, whereas exclusive factory-made cigarette use decreased, alongside increased cheap product use, rather than quitting. Quitting behaviours were associated with higher taxes. Smokers consumed fewer factory-made cigarettes and reduced roll-your-own tobacco weight over time. Apparent illicit purchasing did not increase. Disadvantaged and dependent smokers struggled with tobacco affordability and were more likely to smoke cheaper products, but disadvantage did not affect quit success. Limitations Different for each data set; triangulation increased confidence. Conclusions The tobacco industry overshifted taxes and increased revenues, even when tax increases were high. Therefore, tobacco taxes can be further increased to reduce price differentials and recoup public health costs. Government strategies on illicit tobacco appear effective. Large, sudden tax increases would reduce the industry’s ability to manipulate prices, decrease affordability and increase quitting behaviours. More disadvantaged, and dependent, smokers need more help with quitting. Future work Assessing the impact of tax changes made since 2014; changing how tax changes are introduced (e.g. sudden intermittent or smaller continuous); and tax changes on tobacco initiation. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 8, No. 6. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.


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