Titre : | A qualitative analysis of low income smokers' responses to tobacco excise tax increases (2016) |
Auteurs : | J. HOEK ; K. SMITH |
Type de document : | Article : Périodique |
Dans : | International Journal of Drug Policy (Vol.37, November 2016) |
Article en page(s) : | 82-89 |
Langues: | Anglais |
Discipline : | SHS (Sciences humaines et sociales / Human and social sciences) |
Mots-clés : |
Thésaurus TOXIBASE TABAC ; ETUDE QUALITATIVE ; REVENU ; TAXE ; PRECARITEThésaurus Géographique NOUVELLE ZELANDE |
Résumé : |
Background: While increasing the excise tax applied to tobacco products reduces consumption and smoking prevalence, it may also cause hardship among smokers who do not quit. We explored how smokers living on a low income respond to increasing tobacco excise taxes.
Methods: Using a social justice perspective, we explored the increasing costs of tobacco with a sample of 27 adult smokers who live below the poverty line (i.e., with an income less than 60% of the median New Zealand income). Face-to-face interviews were conducted in Dunedin, New Zealand, a city with marked income differences, and were undertaken shortly after a further tobacco excise tax increase. The interview guide explored participants' smoking practices, their perceptions of excise tax as a strategy to reduce smoking prevalence, and the strategies they used to manage their tobacco needs. Results: We identified three key themes: depriving the poor; tobacco as a precious commodity, and desperation. While many participants described smoking as a pleasure or coping mechanism, they also saw it as a burden that they struggled to manage. Despite trying to quit, most had failed to become smokefree and felt victimised by a punitive policy system that coerced change without supporting it. They managed financial pressure by reducing their tobacco consumption but also used increasingly desperate measures, including recycling waste tobacco; participants reported feeling demeaned by measures they saw as their only option. Conclusion: Providing intensive cessation support for lower income smokers could avoid further alienating a group already experiencing considerable disadvantage. |
Domaine : | Tabac / Tobacco |
Affiliation : | Department of Marketing, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand |
Cote : | Abonnement |
