Date: Thursday, July 30, 1998
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sylvia Rosas (770) 488-5493

CDC STUDY CONFIRMS THAT CIGARETTE PRICE INCREASES REDUCE SMOKING

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that lower-income, minority, and younger populations are more likely than other groups to quit or cut down on their smoking in response to cigarette price increases, resulting in considerable health benefits.

According to the CDC analysis of 14 years of health data, smokers with family incomes equal to or below the study sample median ($33,106 in 1997 dollars) were more likely to respond to price increases by quitting than smokers with family incomes above the median.

"All experts agree that one of the most important steps we can take to reduce smoking is to raise the price of a pack of cigarettes significantly," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala. "To make a lasting reduction in tobacco use, Congress must enact bipartisan, comprehensive tobacco legislation that is based on the President's five key principles. These include a significant price increase, as well as full FDA authority to regulate tobacco products, getting tobacco companies out of the business of marketing to children, furthering public health research and goals, and protecting tobacco farmers and their communities."

Controlling for important factors like income and education, blacks are twice as responsive as whites to price increases and Hispanics are even more price responsive. These differences by race are not fully understood but provide reassurance that cigarette price increases would lower smoking rates and enhance public health outcomes especially for minorities and ethnic groups, CDC said.

The study also found that, even after controlling for income and other variables, Hispanic and black smokers were much more likely than white smokers to quit in response to price increases. For example, among younger smokers (age 18-24 years), the study estimates that a 10 percent price increase would result in a about one-quarter of Hispanics who smoke quitting altogether, an approximately 10 percent decline among blacks, and a nearly 1 percent decline among whites. For Hispanics and blacks, the effect of price increases on quitting declines considerably with age.

"Bad nutritional habits, the use of tobacco, the lack of physical activity and other risky behaviors are increasingly threatening the health of America's minority communities, " said Surgeon General David Satcher. "This report underscores the need for all of us to focus on the issue of tobacco use, in particular. Churches and local community groups are in a unique position to be the agents of preventive medicine, not only within their congregations and membership but also throughout the neighborhoods in which they reside."

The study analyzed data from 14 years of the National Health Interview Survey, which is administered to people age 18 and over. Thus, the study could not estimate the effect of price increases on smoking among underage youth. However, previous studies have shown that teenagers are more price-sensitive than adults, meaning that they would quit in even larger proportions than adults as a result of price increases.

"This study shows that in addition to prevention programs aimed at keeping teens from beginning to smoke, we also need cessation programs for adults over age 40 who are addicted and are most likely to continue smoking and paying the higher cigarette prices," said Dr. Michael Eriksen, director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health.

Other measures recommended by CDC for reducing smoking among youth and adults include enforcing minors' access laws, restricting smoking in public places, restricting tobacco advertising and promotion, school based education, and conducting counter-advertising campaigns.

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