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Original research
Tobacco purchasing in Australia during regular tax increases: findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project
  1. Ara Cho1,2,
  2. Michelle Scollo3,
  3. Gary Chan4,
  4. Pete Driezen5,
  5. Andrew Hyland6,
  6. Ce Shang7,
  7. Coral E Gartner2
  1. 1Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland School of Public Health, Herston, Queensland, Australia
  2. 2The NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame, The University of Queensland School of Public Health, Herston, Queensland, Australia
  3. 3Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  4. 4Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  5. 5Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  6. 6Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
  7. 7Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio, USA
  1. Correspondence to Ara Cho, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland School of Public Health, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia; ara.cho{at}uq.edu.au

Abstract

Objective We examined Australian tobacco purchasing trends, the average self-reported price paid within each purchase type and the association between type of tobacco product purchased and participant characteristics, including quit intentions, between 2007 and 2020.

Methods We analysed data collected from adults who smoked factory-made and/or roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes in nine waves (2007–2020) of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project Australia Survey (nsample=5452, nobservations=11 534). The main outcome measures were type of tobacco products purchased: RYO, carton, pack or pouch size and brand segment. Logistic regression, fit using generalised estimating equations, was estimated the association between the outcome and participant characteristics.

Results The reported price-minimising purchasing patterns increased from 2007 to 2020: any RYO (23.8–43.9%), large-sized pack (2007: 24.0% to 2016: 34.3%); shifting from large-sized to small-sized packs (2020: 37.7%), and economy brand (2007: 37.2% to 2020: 59.3%); shifting from large (2007: 55.8%) to small economy packs (2014: 15.3% to 2020: 48.1%). Individuals with a lower income, a higher nicotine dependence level and no quit intention were more likely to purchase RYO and large-sized packs.

Conclusion RYO, large-sized packs and products with a low upfront cost (eg, small RYO pouches and small-sized economy brand packs) may appeal to people on low incomes. Australia’s diverse tobacco pack and pouch sizes allow the tobacco industry to influence tobacco purchases. Standardising pack and pouch sizes may reduce some price-related marketing and especially benefit people who have a low income, are highly addicted and have no quit intention.

  • Taxation
  • Price
  • Economics
  • Hand-rolled/RYO tobacco
  • Socioeconomic status

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Data from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project are available to eligible researchers 2 years after the ITC Data Management Centre issues cleaned data sets. Researchers who want to use ITC data must first seek for permission by completing an International Tobacco Control Data Repository (ITCDR) request application and then sign an ITCDR Data Usage Agreement. To avoid any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest between researchers who use ITC data and tobacco-related entities, no ITCDR data will be provided directly or indirectly to any researcher, institution or consultant who is currently receiving grant funds or in-kind contributions from any tobacco manufacturer, distributor or other tobacco-related entity. The data usage approval criteria and the contents of the Data Usage Agreement are described online (http://www.itcproject.org).

https://doi.org/10.1136/tc-2023-058130

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. Data from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project are available to eligible researchers 2 years after the ITC Data Management Centre issues cleaned data sets. Researchers who want to use ITC data must first seek for permission by completing an International Tobacco Control Data Repository (ITCDR) request application and then sign an ITCDR Data Usage Agreement. To avoid any real, potential or perceived conflict of interest between researchers who use ITC data and tobacco-related entities, no ITCDR data will be provided directly or indirectly to any researcher, institution or consultant who is currently receiving grant funds or in-kind contributions from any tobacco manufacturer, distributor or other tobacco-related entity. The data usage approval criteria and the contents of the Data Usage Agreement are described online (http://www.itcproject.org).

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @Ara_JCho, @CoralGartner

    • Contributors AC and CEG developed the initial research concept and design. AC had the lead role in drafting the manuscript with the help of MS and CEG and conducted all statistical analyses with the support of GC and PD. MS, PD, AH and CS commented on advanced drafts. All authors contributed to data interpretation, reviewed and edited the text and have approved the final version of the manuscript. AC is the guarantor.

    • Funding The data collection for the Australian arm of the ITC Four-Country Survey is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (265903, 450110 and 1005922) and partially supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP-79551 and MPO-115016). The data collection for the Australian arm of the ITC Four-Country Smoking and Vaping Survey is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (GNT1106451) and partially supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation Grant (FDN-148477). PD is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation Grant (FDN-148477) and the US National Institutes of Health (P01 CA200512). AH is supported by the US National Institutes of Health (P01 CA200512). AC holds a University of Queensland Research Training Scholarship. GC is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant (NHMRC Grant APP1176137). CEG is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT220100186). AC, MS, GC and CEG are researchers associated with the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (NHMRC Grant GNT1198301).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.