Responsiveness to cigarette prices by different racial/ethnic groups of US adults

To evaluate the impact of cigarette prices on adult smoking for four US racial/ethnic groups: whites, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics.

We analysed pooled cross-sectional data from the 2006/2007 and 2010/2011 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey (n=339 921 adults aged 18+) and cigarette price data from the Tax Burden on Tobacco. Using a two-part econometric model of cigarette demand that controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, state-level antismoking sentiment, local-level smoke-free air laws and monthly indicator, we estimated for each racial/ethnic group the price elasticities of smoking participation, smoking intensity and total demand for cigarettes.

Smoking prevalence for whites, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics during the study period was 18.3%, 16.1%, 8.2% and 11.3%, respectively. The price elasticity of smoking participation was statistically significant for whites, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics at -0.26, -0.10, -0.42 and -0.11, respectively. The price elasticity of smoking intensity was statistically significant among whites (-0.22) and African-Americans (-0.17). Overall, the total price elasticity of cigarette demand was statistically significant for all racial/ethnic groups: 0.48 for whites, -0.27 for African-Americans, -0.22 for Asians and -0.15 for Hispanics.

Our results suggest that raising cigarette prices, such as via tobacco tax increases, would result in reduced cigarette consumption for all racial/ethnic groups. The magnitude of the effect and the impact on cessation and reduced smoking intensity differ across these groups.