Tax is a motivating factor to make a quit attempt from smoking: a study before and after the April 2010 tax increase

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Increasing excise tax on tobacco is one of the most powerful and cost-effective smoking interventions. Despite this evidence, there has been no substantial tax increase in New Zealand between 2000 and 2010. In April 2010 a 10% tax increase on factory-made cigarettes and a 24% tax increase on loose leaf tobacco was implemented. AIM: To evaluate the effect of cost as a motivating reason for smokers to make a quit attempt before and after the 2010 tobacco tax increase. METHODS: A regression analysis of a cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected from August to October 2009 and compared with data collected in July 2010. RESULTS: In 2009, 25.5% of smokers cited cost as a reason for trying to quit smoking compared with 55.6% in 2010. The adjusted odds of making a quit attempt with cost as a reason were 3.6 (95% CI 2.3–5.6, P=<0.001). Furthermore, smokers were more likely to make a quit attempt in 2010 than in 2009. Thirty percent of smokers made at least one quit attempt in 2009 and 39% made a quit attempt in 2010 (adjusted odds ratio 1.5, 95% CI 0.95–2.3, P=<0.1) DISCUSSION: The recent tax increase on tobacco in New Zealand has resulted in more smokers making an attempt to quit smoking and more smokers identifying cost as a motive for quitting. KEYWORDS: Smoking; smoking cessation; tobacco; taxes; New Zealand

The impact of an increase in excise tax on the retail price of tobacco in New Zealand

“…Callers were more than three times as likely to cite cost as the reason for quitting in 2010 relative to 2009 15. Yet, while tobacco price increases stimulate cessation attempts,2 17 their impact may not be maintained.…”

“…The unannounced April 2010 tax increase saw the proportion of smokers making a quit attempt increase from 30% in 2009 to 39% in 2010,15 while calls to the Quitline (the national smoking cessation service) increased significantly 16. Callers were more than three times as likely to cite cost as the reason for quitting in 2010 relative to 2009 15.…”

Left-digit price effects on smoking cessation motivation

“…One of the major factors in smoking cessation is the price of cigarettes 4. For example, tax increases have been shown to significantly increase quit attempts 5 6. To date, however, most of the studies on the relationship between cigarette price and smoking cessation are from the domain of applied microeconomics.…”

An annual pre-announced step-increase in tobacco excise in New Zealand

“…Briefly, these excise increases produced some positive outcomes for smokers, including an increase in the use of Quitline, 7 an increased proportion of smokers making a quit attempt, 8,9 a reduction in daily tobacco consumption, 9 and an increased proportion of smokers making positive changes to their smoking behaviours including quitting, trying to quit, and cutting down. 6 However, only a very small proportion of smokers successfully quit.…”