Cigarette price rise significantly reduces smokers: U.S. study

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- If cigarettes prices increase one U.S. dollar more, 20 percent U.S. smokers would be more likely to quit, according a new research report.

Based on results from the new study, published in Epidemiology, raising cigarette prices appears to be a better strategy for encouraging smoking cessation across all ages.

Smoking cessation remains the largest measure against preventable cause of death and disease in the world. People who stop smoking greatly reduce their risk for disease and early death.

According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among all current U.S. adult cigarette smokers, nearly 7 out of every 10 reported in 2015 that they wanted to quit completely.

"Our finding that increases in cigarette prices were associated with quitting smoking in the older population suggests that cigarette taxes may be a particularly effective lever for behavior change," Stephanie Mayne, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.

The research team used 10 years of neighborhood-level price data to see how it affected nearby smokers' smoking habits, with particular attention given to those who appeared to be older.

The results are quite surprising: when cigarettes pack prices increased by only one U.S. dollar, current smokers were 20 percent more likely to quit smoking. Heavy smokers, defined as smoking more than half a pack a day, showed a 35 percent reduction in the average number of cigarettes they smoked per day. And overall the price rise resulted in a three percent reduction in smoking risk.

"Some research suggests younger adults may be more price-sensitive than older adults," Mayne added.

Although the health benefits are greater for people who stop at earlier ages, there are benefits at any age, CDC pointed out.

Researchers believe that more consistent tax policy across the United States might help encourage more older adults to quit smoking.

"Given our findings, if an additional one dollar was added to the U.S. tobacco tax, it could amount to upwards of one million fewer smokers," Amy Auchincloss, the senior author on the study and associate professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, said.