Release Date: Wednesday 9 April, 2003

CIGARETTE TAXES A KEY TO REDUCING SMOKING RATES

Comprehensive cigarette advertising bans and high cigarette taxes are some of the keys to reducing smoking rates, according to a leading American health economist.

Dr Frank Chaloupka, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Economics, told delegates at the opening of the 2nd Australian Tobacco Control Conference in Melbourne today that high cigarette taxes, coupled with measures such as bans on cigarette advertising and promotion, consumer information and restrictions on public smoking are effective ways to reduce smoking rates.

Presenting his keynote address by video, Dr Chaloupka told the conference that cigarette taxes between two thirds and four fifths of cigarette prices are a good target for developing countries, where taxes tend to be well below this level.

"Higher cigarette taxes are a triple whammy for smoking rates - they work by enducing quitting, reducing the amount people smoke, and preventing people from starting in the first place."

Dr Chaloupka told conference delegates that bans on cigarette advertising and promotions can reduce the amount of cigarettes being smoked by 6.3%, and well resourced anti-smoking advertising campaigns can reduce smoking rates by about 2% a year.

Dr Chaloupka said there is a direct correlation between the price of cigarettes and the level of smoking.

"Research shows that if the real price of cigarettes falls, cigarette consumption will increase. Conversely, increasing the price of cigarettes in the United States and many other countries has led to a marked decline in youth smoking rates."

Dr Chaloupka said increasing cigarette prices was more effective in preventing young people from smoking than measures such as restricting access to cigarettes.

"There is mixed evidence of the effectiveness of restricting young people's access to cigarettes, because this is only successful if it is aggressively enforced," he said.

Dr Chaloupka said increased taxes must be part of other measures, including

* increased health information to smokers through dissemination of
research findings, effective warning labels and anti-smoking advertising campaigns;
* comprehensive bans on cigarette advertising and promotion;
* restrictions on smoking in public places and workplaces; and
* increased access to products to help smokers quit.

Dr Chaloupka said increasing access to nicotine patches and gum, as well as other methods to help smokers quit, is also a highly effective measure in reducing smoking rates.

"Nicotine replacement therapies like patches and gum doubles the effectiveness of quitting efforts."

"In light of this, governments around the world should consider subsidising these products for lower income smokers and include coverage of smoking cessation services in public health insurance programs."

Dr Chaloupka says that in the next 100 years, around 1 billion people across the world will die from smoking related illnesses, and most of these deaths will occur in developing countries.

"Tobacco deaths worldwide are large and growing, and have higher burdens among the poor."

Dr Chaloupka said measures that had been shown to be ineffective in reducing smoking rates included prohibition, tobacco crop substitution and trade restrictions.

For more information please contact Zoe Furman on (03) 9635 5517 or email zoe.furman@cancervic.org.au