1. Responsiveness to cigarette prices by different racial/ethnic groups of US adults.
- Author
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Yao, Tingting, Ong, Michael K, Max, Wendy, Keeler, Courtney, Wang, Yingning, Yerger, Valerie B, and Sung, Hai-Yen
- Subjects
Humans ,Models ,Econometric ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Smoking ,Commerce ,Adolescent ,Adult ,Aged ,Middle Aged ,African Americans ,Asian Continental Ancestry Group ,European Continental Ancestry Group ,Ethnic Groups ,Hispanic Americans ,United States ,Female ,Male ,Young Adult ,Smoke-Free Policy ,Tobacco Products ,Consumer Behavior ,U.S. adults ,cigarette demand ,price elasticity ,race/ethnicity ,smoking intensity ,smoking participation ,race ,ethnicity ,U ,S ,adults ,Models ,Econometric ,Substance Abuse ,Tobacco Smoke and Health ,Prevention ,Tobacco ,Cancer ,Respiratory ,Smoking and Health ,Public Health - Abstract
ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of cigarette prices on adult smoking for four US racial/ethnic groups: whites, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics.MethodsWe analysed pooled cross-sectional data from the 2006/2007 and 2010/2011 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (n=339 921 adults aged 18+) and cigarette price data from the Tax Burden on Tobacco. Using a two-part econometric model of cigarette demand that controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, state-level antismoking sentiment, local-level smoke-free air laws and monthly indicator, we estimated for each racial/ethnic group the price elasticities of smoking participation, smoking intensity and total demand for cigarettes.ResultsSmoking prevalence for whites, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics during the study period was 18.3%, 16.1%, 8.2% and 11.3%, respectively. The price elasticity of smoking participation was statistically significant for whites, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics at -0.26, -0.10, -0.42 and -0.11, respectively. The price elasticity of smoking intensity was statistically significant among whites (-0.22) and African-Americans (-0.17). Overall, the total price elasticity of cigarette demand was statistically significant for all racial/ethnic groups: 0.48 for whites, -0.27 for African-Americans, -0.22 for Asians and -0.15 for Hispanics.ConclusionsOur results suggest that raising cigarette prices, such as via tobacco tax increases, would result in reduced cigarette consumption for all racial/ethnic groups. The magnitude of the effect and the impact on cessation and reduced smoking intensity differ across these groups.
- Published
- 2018