PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Mugosa, Ana AU - Cizmovic, Mirjana AU - Vulovic, Violeta TI - Impact of tobacco spending on intrahousehold resource allocation in Montenegro AID - 10.1136/tc-2022-057786 DP - 2024 Jun 01 TA - Tobacco Control PG - s75--s80 VI - 33 IP - Suppl 2 4099 - http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/33/Suppl_2/s75.short 4100 - http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/33/Suppl_2/s75.full SO - Tob Control2024 Jun 01; 33 AB - Background The main goal of this study is to estimate the crowding out impact of tobacco expenditures on the household budget allocation to other mutually exclusive commodity groups in Montenegro.Methodology The analysis uses the Household Budget Survey data from 2005 to 2017 to estimate a system of Engel curves using a three-stage least squares approach. As the tobacco expenditure variable is endogenous to budget shares on other consumption items, instrumental variables were included to obtain consistent estimates.Results Overall, the results confirm the existence of the crowding out effect of tobacco spending on various commodities, such as some food items (eg, cereals, fruits and vegetables and dairy products), clothing, housing and utilities, education and recreation while a positive effect of tobacco consumption was estimated on budget shares on bars and restaurants, alcohol, coffee and sugary drinks. These results are consistent throughout the income groups of households. The estimates indicate that an increase in tobacco expenditures leads to reduction in budget shares on essential goods, which is likely to have negative impacts on the household living standard.Conclusions Tobacco expenditure crowds out household spending on necessities, especially in case of the poorest households, thus increasing inequality, hampering human capital development and potentially causing long-term adverse effects on the households in Montenegro. Our results are similar to evidence from other low and middle-income countries. This paper contributes to the analysis of the crowding out effect of tobacco consumption, which was conducted for the first time in Montenegro.Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available.