Financial challenges and hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and tobacco expenditure minimizing strategies among U.S. adult commercial tobacco users

Zarei, Kasra; Hamilton-Moseley, Kristen R.; Chen-Sankey, Julia; Phan, Lilianna; Ajith, Aniruddh; Hacker, Kiana; Jewett, Bambi; Choi, Kelvin

doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107547

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Finally, it should be kept in mind that while use of strategies to reduce tobacco spending often occur as a response to taxes or increased prices, other factors such as loss of income or high inflation can also encourage use of these strategies. A study on strategies to reduce tobacco spending during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in the United States, and found a self-reported increase of strategies, in particular among people who experienced financial challenges and hardships during the pandemic [43]. While the context of our study was a recent tax increase, it is reasonable to assume that likely a variety of factors may have influenced the use of strategies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Smokers’ strategies to reduce tobacco spending: self-reported use and differences across subgroups. Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Survey

et al. 2023

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Background The cost of tobacco is one of the most reported reasons for smoking cessation. Rather than quitting, smokers can use also strategies to reduce tobacco expenditure while continuing smoking, such as smoking less or using price-minimising strategies. The Netherlands announced to increase the price of a pack cigarettes from seven (2018) to ten euros (2023), to reduce tobacco prevalence and consumption. This study explores the self-reported strategies to reduce tobacco spending among Dutch smokers, and whether this differed per age, income, and education. Additionally, we analysed among quitters in these subgroups whether price played a role in their decision to quit. Methods Cross-sectional survey data from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Wave 2 (September–November 2020, N = 1915) was used. Strategies to reduce spending among smokers (N = 1790) were: reducing consumption, bulk buying, switching to cheaper products or buying from low-taxed sources. These were collapsed into: reducing consumption (solely or in combination with other behaviours), solely price-minimising behaviours (such as buying cheaper brands), or no strategies to reduce spending. Associations between strategies and characteristics were analysed through multinomial and binary logistic regression models. Second, we explored which subgroups were more likely to report that price played a role in their decision to quit among quitters (N = 125). Results The majority of smokers used strategies to reduce tobacco spending: 35.6% reduced consumption and 19.3% used solely price-minimising strategies. 82.1% of quitters reported that price played a role in their decision to quit. Low-income individuals were more likely to report price as a reason for quitting and reduce consumption, but also to buy cheaper products. Highly nicotine dependent smokers were more likely to use price-minimising behaviours, and less likely to reduce consumption. Conclusions The majority reported using strategies to reduce spending or that price played a role in their decision to quit. Reducing consumption was the most reported strategy. Low-income smokers were more likely to reportedly reduce consumption, buy cheaper products, or quit. Price policies have the potential to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in smoking. To discourage price-minimising behaviours, such as switching to cheaper products, reducing price differences between products should be prioritized.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Smokers’ strategies to reduce tobacco spending: self-reported use and differences across subgroups. Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Survey

et al. 2023

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“…Responses were dichotomised into 'At least sometimes' ('Sometimes', 'Often' and 'Always') and 'Less than sometimes' ('Never' and 'Rarely'). The number of these six financial hardships experienced at least sometimes since the COVID-19 pandemic was also counted (range: 0-6) as described and used in a previous study, 21 and was used to indicate the level of financial hardship experienced, with a higher count suggesting a higher level of financial hardship. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis using a dichotomised financial hardship variable, experiencing (1+) versus not experiencing (0) financial hardships.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased receipt of commercial tobacco discount coupons among US adults who use commercial tobacco

et al. 2023

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IntroductionMany individuals experienced financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic; yet commercial tobacco (CT) sales increased in the USA. We examined how experiencing financial hardships relates to increased CT discount coupon reception during the pandemic.MethodsA nationally representative sample of 1700 US adults who used CT during the 12 months prior to the survey were surveyed online during January to February 2021. Participants reported if they had received more discount coupons for various CT products during (compared with before) the pandemic. They also reported whether they experienced six different types of financial hardships since the pandemic, and the total number of hardships experienced was counted. Weighted multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between financial hardships and increased coupon reception, adjusting for demographics and CT product use.ResultsDuring the first 10–11 months of the pandemic, 21.3% of US adults who used CT during the 12 months prior to the survey reported receiving more CT discount coupons. Experiencing financial hardship during the pandemic was associated with higher odds of receiving more coupons for all types of CT products: every additional count of financial hardship was associated with higher odds of increased reception of discount coupons for all CT products (adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.13 to 1.23 across products).ConclusionsOver one-fifth of US adults who used CT received more discount coupons during the pandemic. Those facing financial hardships had higher discount coupon reception, suggesting potential targeted marketing to financially vulnerable individuals by the tobacco industry.

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Use of tobacco price-minimization strategies among public housing residents compared to U.S. low-income adults

Dearfield,

Zarei,

Choi

et al. 2024

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

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Financial challenges and hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and tobacco expenditure minimizing strategies among U.S. adult commercial tobacco users

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Smokers’ strategies to reduce tobacco spending: self-reported use and differences across subgroups. Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Survey

Smokers’ strategies to reduce tobacco spending: self-reported use and differences across subgroups. Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Netherlands Survey

Financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased receipt of commercial tobacco discount coupons among US adults who use commercial tobacco

Use of tobacco price-minimization strategies among public housing residents compared to U.S. low-income adults

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