According to the World Health
Organization, rates of tobacco-use are decreasing in developed countries and
increasing in many developing countries (Kostova, 2013). Resultantly, it has been projected that
on the global scale, developing countries will be burdened with approximately
80% of all cases of tobacco-related deaths (Kostova, 2013). At the present, a majority of the globe
(174 countries) has adopted the World Health Organization’s Framework
Convention for Tobacco Control, whose central focus is to control tobacco-use
through increasing taxes on cigarettes, leading to increased consumer prices of
cigarettes (Kostova, 2013).
The argument that prices on
cigarettes should be increased to prevent the initiation of smoking has
received an incredible quantity of exposure in the media, and appears to receive
an overwhelming amount of support from the public. Less widespread however, is the criticism of the idea of
raising prices on cigarettes, and opinions questioning whether or not such
economic policies truly exert a powerful impact on reducing rates of smoking.
In developed countries
including Britain, the United States, and Spain, studies looking at the effect
of increasing prices on cigarettes with respect to smoking initiation and
cessation in youth have been inconclusive, but the bulk of the cited research
indicates that price increases on cigarettes are more likely to reduce rates of
initiation as opposed to rates of cessation (Kostova, 2013). This finding serves as a reminder of
just how difficult it is to quit smoking following initiation, and that saving money
by not purchasing cigarettes is often not the primary reason smokers choose to
quit smoking.
Contrary to the predictable
findings in developed countries, the findings for developing countries proved
to be surprising and unpredictable.
When results from developed countries were compared with those retrieved
from developing countries, it was found (overall) that youth in developing
countries appeared to be less responsive to price increases in cigarettes
(Kostova, 2013). It is likely that
one would have expected the opposite, because these individuals (on average)
have significantly lower incomes than their counterparts in developed
countries. The direct implication
of this finding is that increasing prices of cigarettes in developed countries
may actually produce a more powerful downward force on smoking initiation and
cessation.
In conclusion, the paradox
exists in the sense that increasing prices on cigarettes appears to be the
least effective in preventing smoking initiation and promoting cessation in
those who have the greatest difficulty affording them. A plausible argument in light of these
findings is that raising prices on cigarettes may not actually be the most
effective method of reducing rates of tobacco-use. Perhaps a move towards educating individuals (particularly
in developing countries), empowering them to make healthier life choices, may
prove to be a greater contributor to tobacco control than economic policies.
References
Kostova, D. (2013). A (nearly) global look at
the dynamics of youth smoking initiation and cessation: the role of cigarette
prices. Applied
Economics. 45(28), 3943-3951. doi: 10.1080/00036846.2012.736947
