A tax to prevent the epidemic of lung cancer

Price and cigarette consumption in Europe

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the variation in demand for tobacco according to price of cigarettes across the European region.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

All the 52 countries of the European region.

PARTICIPANTS

For each European country, data were collected on annual per adult cigarette consumption (2000), smoking prevalence (most recent), retail price of a pack of local and foreign brand cigarettes (around 2000), the gross domestic product adjusted by purchasing power parities, and the adult population (2000).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Price elasticity of demand for cigarettes (that is, the change in cigarette consumption according to a change in tobacco price) across all the European countries, estimated by double-log multiple linear regression.

RESULTS

Controlling for male to female prevalence ratio, price elasticities for consumption were -0.46 (95% confidence interval (CI) -0.74 to -0.17) and -0.74 (95% CI -1.13 to -0.35) for local and foreign brand, respectively. The inverse relation between cigarette price and consumption was stronger in countries not in the European Union (price elasticity for foreign brand cigarettes of -0.8) as compared to European Union countries (price elasticity of -0.4).

CONCLUSIONS

The result that, on average, in Europe smoking consumption decreases 5-7% for a 10% increase in the real price of cigarettes strongly supports an inverse association between price and cigarette smoking.

Channels of cigarette distribution, price and tobacco consumption in Italy

BACKGROUND

Limited information is available on the role of smuggling and of perceived influence of cigarette price on tobacco consumption in Italy. To elucidate the issues, we included specific questions in a survey on smoking in Italy.

METHODS

Between March and April 2004, we conducted a survey on 3050 individuals aged 15 or over, representative of the general adult Italian population. The questionnaire included the estimate of the role of various channels of cigarette distribution and information on the self-reported perception of influence of prices on cigarette consumption in the young.

RESULTS

Among current smokers, 85.6% bought cigarettes from tobacco shops, 7.5% from vending machines, and 6.9% from other channels of distribution, including smuggling, and internet (plus offered cigarettes). Overall, 35.9% of ever smokers (37.9% of males and 32.8% of females) reported that the prices had an intermediate to high influence on cigarette consumption in the young. Younger and less educated smokers were not more prone to report an influence of prices.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate that in Italy smuggling now covers a limited proportion of cigarette sales, while cigarette prices have a substantial influence on tobacco consumption in the young.