Tobacco Price Increases: Do They Truly Encourage Quitting?

Cigarette smoking claims plenty of lives, accounting for over 8 million preventable deaths per year. Even more unfortunate is the fact that secondhand smoke claims the lives of around 1.2 million non-smokers yearly.

To urge smokers to start thinking about quitting ciggies, many governments worldwide, including ours, have raised tobacco prices through taxes. This explains why a pack of 20s in the 80s cost around $4 and why that same pack costs about $42 today.

While it does encourage people to stop smoking, it does not effectively address the underlying problem of nicotine addiction – the reason why it’s hard for smokers to quit, even if they recognise how smoking has negatively affected their lungs, overall health, and their wallet.

In this post, we’ll take a look at whether tobacco price increases have helped encourage smokers to quit effectively and if it will still help in the long run.

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Taking Tobacco Away From Youth and the Impoverished

In the past, smoking was more common among teenagers and in low-income areas because cigarettes were affordable and easily accessible at local shops.

While rising prices have led many to prioritise essentials over cigarettes, some youths have turned to illegal nicotine vaping products sold under the counter.

This shift means that even children as young as five are using these illicit vapes for leisure rather than as a smoking cessation aid. 

It’s pretty clear that the driving force behind this trend is to hook a new generation of young people on nicotine, all in the name of profit. 

An Ever-Growing Void in Any Budget

If we put aside the issue of poverty in an area for a moment, it’s pretty clear that the rising prices of cigarettes can really hit a smoker’s wallet hard.

So, if you’re a smoker, now’s the time to realise just how much you could save—over $11,000 a year. That’s a staggering amount, isn’t it? 

Just think about what you could do with that money. If you have a family, you could even cover college tuition or pay off a significant chunk of their mortgage with what you’ll save by kicking the habit.

Quitting for good isn’t just a win for your health; it’s a great boost for your bank balance as well.

Creating Fewer Sale Opportunities

Tobacconists, grocery shops, and convenience stores frequently sell harmful cigarettes, prioritising their profits over the health of their customers, even as they realise the damage they’re causing.

It’s especially concerning that many retailers see a lucrative opportunity in selling tobacco in poorer communities, where they can earn substantial profits that tend to stick around longer.

The good news is that with the recent price hikes on cigarettes, more and more smokers are choosing to quit for good. 

This is not only helping them improve their health, but it’s also leading to fewer new retailers opening and existing ones struggling to stay afloat.

In a rather opportunistic move, some of these sellers have now switched to offering dangerous and illegal e-cigarettes under the counter to try to make up for their losses.

Thankfully, the government has stepped in to crack down on these sellers and retailers who break the law, which is helping to reduce their numbers and keep communities safer.

Has Raising Cigarette Prices Proven to Work?

We can all admit cash is hard to come by nowadays, and we’re all bootstrapped. Yet, this logical premise that helped make higher cigarette taxes make sense isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to the problem due to the challenges listed below.

Corporations Can Absorb Taxes

Tobacco companies can absorb the increased taxes imposed on their products, preventing the full impact of price increases from reaching consumers.

Companies and Retailers Can Introduce ‘Bite-Size’ Packs

You may have seen smaller packs (or even individual cigarettes) being sold in your local store. 

In response to price increases, tobacco companies have started making smaller and cheaper packs, and retailers have even started breaking down packs into individual sticks to make these products more accessible and affordable to their ‘undisclosed’ target markets – Hint: it’s the youth and the impoverished.

High-Income Earners Are Barely Affected

Why start quitting if you can still spend tens of thousands of dollars despite the tax hikes? High-income households with multiple streams of income won’t feel discouraged to quit just because prices have increased now and will rise further later.

The Strength of Nicotine Addiction Surpassing Priorities

Increasing prices don’t always deter addicted smokers from stopping. There have been many instances where disadvantaged people still kept on smoking due to their difficulties in handling withdrawals and quitting smoking entirely.

The Best Way to Quit Smoking

Seeing ciggie prices rise to new heights probably makes you want to think of saving lots of cash by stopping smoking, so here are a few steps to help you get started.

Consult a GP

GPs are the best people to involve in your smoking cessation journey. They can customise a plan that considers the number of ciggies or packs you used to smoke, triggers, and perspective on smoking. 

With a GP’s advice paired with suitable quitting tools, you’re well on your way to handling your first-month withdrawals (the strongest and where most smokers relapse) effectively.

But sometimes, lozenges, gums, patches, and inhalers don’t always work. In this instance, GPs may prescribe NVPs from pharmacies. More on this below.

More About Nicotine Vaping Products (NVPs)

Unlike their illegal counterparts, NVPs sold in pharmacies are made under stringent pharmaceutical standards on the manufacturing process and ingredients, are toxicologically assessed for inhalation, are locally insured, and are specifically designed to help you stop smoking.

These have also been proven to work better than NRTs. The latest Cochrane Review found high-certainty evidence that NVPs are more effective than NRT in helping people stop smoking.

Summary

It’s great to see governments stepping up to discourage smoking by increasing prices. However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution to urge smokers to stop smoking for good. Empathy, understanding, and the right tools are the best way to get to the heart of the problem and stop nicotine addiction for good.

You’re probably reading this because you want to stop smoking and save more money. You’ve come to the right place.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.

Link Reference

• https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
• https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/aussie-kindergarteners-caught-in-vaping-trend-principal-claims/news-story/ee3b6b89457c9e6e089b535abe89170b
• https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/tobacco-advertising-poor-neighborhoods/
• https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/marketing/index.htm
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672354/
• https://www.cochrane.org/news/latest-cochrane-review-finds-high-certainty-evidence-nicotine-e-cigarettes-are-more-effective