Taxing time for smokers

More Maori, Pacific and low income smokers are giving up, following the rise in the excise tax on tobacco, earlier this year.

New research by the University of Auckland's Centre for Tobacco Control Research found that 65% of participants had tried to stop smoking since the rise in excise tax on tobacco in April. This is double the quitting rates reported in a national survey which found that about a third had tried to quit in the last year.

The research conducted by Dr Marewa Glover and Nathan Cowie of the University of Auckland and Josephine Samuelu of Smokefree Pacific Action Network, investigated how low income smokers reacted to the tobacco price increase. Mainly Maori and Pacific and lower socio-economic people were surveyed.

"Another pleasing result is that 41% of participants sought help from a doctor or health worker for their last quit attempt and that 41% used nicotine replacement therapy to help them quit," said Dr Glover.

"This is much higher than figures reported in the Ministry of Health's 2008 Tobacco Use Survey, suggesting that the health target to offer cessation support to patients who smoke is working to increase support offered."

Over 60% of people who received help from a healthcare professional went on to use nicotine replacement products. Seventy three percent of those who used Quitline for their last quit attempt also used nicotine replacement.

Smokers adapted their smoking in other ways also, though not as much as expected. Participants aged over 25 years, were more likely to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day than the under 25 year-olds.

"We did not find a switch to use of loose tobacco, as happened with previous tobacco tax increases. This suggests that the greater increase in the excise tax on loose tobacco did remove the price advantage of switching from factory-made cigarettes to roll-your-own as intended," said Nathan Cowie, who is presenting the results at the National Tobacco-free Aotearoa Conference in Auckland today.