Amid the rising cost of living, making cigarettes more expensive could motivate more smokers to quit. Here’s how to make good intentions stick, says Yvette van der Eijk of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
DOES RAISING TOBACCO PRICES AFFECT SMOKING HABITS?
A tax increase of 5 per cent or 10 per cent is barely enough to keep pace with inflation, especially in the current economic climate. Singapore’s latest tax hike, at 15 per cent, is higher than the current inflation rate, but does not guarantee that the affordability of tobacco products will be reduced by the same amount year upon year.In some countries, tobacco taxes are structured such that they will always be higher than inflation.
When tobacco taxes increase, instead of quitting, some of the more price-sensitive smokers may “downtrade” to a cheaper brand. Since tobacco taxes tend to motivate quitting, it is important to provide smokers with the resources to follow through on their intentions.
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