Determinants of smoking intensity in South Africa: Evidence from township communities
Micheal and Hana found that smokers in townships reduce the number of cigarettes smoked daily by an average of about 3% when cigarette prices increase by 10%. Young smokers are more sensitive to price increases since they reduce the number of cigarettes smoked by about 5% in response to the same price increase. Smokers’ responsiveness to changes in the cigarette price also differs by gender and race: females and Coloureds are less sensitive to changes in cigarette prices in terms of the number of cigarettes consumed in a day. The study also suggests that even though smoking intensity is lower among people who purchase single sticks, allowing single-stick sales can undermine youth smoking prevention.
A key conclusion of this study is that a policy of higher tobacco excise taxes should be accompanied by other tobacco control interventions that are targeted at smokers who are less responsive to price-related measures.
Read the article in full here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101099