TY - JOUR T1 - Smoking, standard of living, and poverty in China JF - Tobacco Control JO - Tob Control SP - 247 LP - 250 DO - 10.1136/tc.2004.010777 VL - 14 IS - 4 AU - T-w Hu AU - Z Mao AU - Y Liu AU - J de Beyer AU - M Ong Y1 - 2005/08/01 UR - http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/14/4/247.abstract N2 - Objectives: To analyse differences in smoking behaviour and smoking expenditures among low and high income households in China and the impact of smoking on standard of living of low income households in China. Methods: About 3400 urban and rural households from 36 townships/districts in southwest China were interviewed in 2002. Cross tabulations and regression analysis were used to examine the differences in major household expenditures, including food, housing, clothing, and education between households with smokers and without smokers. Results: Lower income households with smokers paid less per pack and smoked fewer cigarettes than higher income households with smokers. Poor urban households spent an average of 6.6% of their total expenditures on cigarettes; poor rural households spent 11.3% of their total expenditures on cigarettes. Conclusion: Reducing cigarette expenditures could release household resources to spend on food, housing, and other goods that improve living standards. ER -