J. Townsend et al., CIGARETTE-SMOKING BY SOCIOECONOMIC GROUP, SEX, AND AGE - EFFECTS OF PRICE, INCOME, AND HEALTH PUBLICITY, BMJ. British medical journal, 309(6959), 1994, pp. 923-927
Objective-To assess effects of price, income, and health publicity on
cigarette smoking by age, sex, and socioeconomic group. Design-Econome
tric multiple regression analysis of data on cigarette smoking from th
e British general household survey. Subjects-Random sample of adult po
pulation in Britain interviewed for biennial general household surveys
1972-90. Main outcome measures-Changes in cigarette consumption and p
revalence of smoking. Results-Price elasticities of demand for cigaret
tes (percentage change in cigarette consumption for a 1% change in pri
ce) were significant at -0.5 (95% confidence interval -0.8 to -0.1) fo
r men and -0.6 (-0.9 to -0.3) for women, were highest in socioeconomic
group V (-1.0 for men and -0.9 for women), and lowest (not significan
tly different from zero) in socioeconomic groups I and II. The gradien
t in price elasticities by socioeconomic group was significant for men
(F=5.6, P=0.02) and for women (F=6.1, P=0.02). Price was a significan
t factor in cigarette consumption by age for women in every age group
and for men aged 25-34. Cigarette consumption by young men aged 16-34
increased with income. There was a significant decrease in smoking ove
r time by women in socioeconomic groups I and II and by men in all age
and social groups except socioeconomic group V attributable to health
publicity. Price significantly affected smoking prevalence in socioec
onomic group V (-0.6 for men and -0.5 for women) and for all women (-0
.2). Conclusions-Men and women in lower socioeconomic groups are more
responsive than are those in higher socioeconomic groups to changes in
the price of cigarettes and less to health publicity. Women of all ag
es, including teenagers, appear to have been less responsive to health
publicity than have men but more responsive to price. Response to hea
lth publicity decreased linearly with age. Real price increases in cig
arettes could narrow differences between socioeconomic groups in smoki
ng and the related inequalities in health, but specific measures would
be necessary to ameliorate effects on the most deprived families that
may include members who continue to smoke. The use of a policy to ste
adily increase cigarette tax is likely to help achieve the government'
s targets for smoking and smoking related diseases.