Table 3

The associations between tobacco prices and smoking onset, by urban versus rural division

VariableCigarette smoking onsetBidi smoking onsetAny smoking onset
(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)
Residence at the time of surveyUrban (n=81 387)Rural
(n=30 609)
Urban
(n=84 576)
Rural
(n=28 990)
Urban
(n=77 584)
Rural
(n=27 818)
Cigarette prices (OR, 95% CI)0.91**
(0.86 to 0.97)
1.35**
(1.19 to 1.53)
0.98
(0.92 to 1.03)
1.34**
(1.2 to 1.5)
Bidi prices (OR, 95% CI)0.27**
(0.22 to 0.34)
0.64*
(0.41 to 1.01)
0.54**
(0.43 to 0.68)
0.69*
(0.46 to 1.02)
  • Weighted logistic regressions also controlled for time-varying age, age squared, gender, year fixed effects, and state fixed effects. SEs were clustered to adjust for inter-temporal correlations within the same individual. Elasticity estimate for the significant negative association between cigarette prices and smoking onset is −1.5 (column 1). Elasticity estimates for significant negative associations between bidi prices and smoking onset are −7.3 (column 3), −2.5 (column 4), 3.5 (column 5) and −2.1 (column 6).

  • *p<0.1, **p<0.01.