About 35 percent of Oklahoma smokers said the price hike had encouraged them to quit smoking.
But smokers who were most affected by higher prices were people with annual incomes below $50,000, Wiener said.
"The findings emphasize that the decision to smoke or not to smoke is similar to any other purchase decision. It is strongly influenced by price," he said.
The study also noted that the number of Oklahoma middle-school students who smoked or experimented with smoking had fallen during a five-year period that ended in 2007, Wiener said.
"All the data suggests that the tax increase might have kept people from starting smoking," he said.
"It seemed price had the biggest impact on people for whom smoking is just a recreational or casual thing.
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment