Motivations to Change Smoking Behaviors Between 2007 and 2019 in Australia: A Repeated Cross-sectional Study

In 2010, Australian tobacco excise (administered federally) increased by 25%, and by 12.5% annually from 2013 to 2020, with additional increases on roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco between 2017 and 2020. We estimated past year changes in smoking behavior among Australian adults who smoked (daily and non-daily) in the past year, and the association between consumer characteristics and stated motivations to change/attempt to change smoking behavior between 2007 and 2019.

Logistic regression analysis of combined data from national representative triennial cross-sectional surveys in Australia (N = 22 977).

The main motivation cited for changing smoking behavior switched from health-related from 2007 to 2010 to cost-related from 2013 to 2019. Among those who quit between one and 12 months ago, living in a lower socioeconomic area (odds ratio (OR) = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.18% to -2.18%), was associated with reporting the cost of smoking motivated them to quit. Among those who reduced their smoking, smoking daily and >20 cigarettes/day vs. non-daily smoking (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.60% to 2.78%), having high/very high psychological distress (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.12% to 1.59%), and alcohol consumption (ORdaily drinking = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.05% to 1.81%) was associated with cost as a motivation. Exclusive (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.53% to 0.80%) and non-exclusive (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.65% to 0.91%) RYO use was associated with being less likely to report the cost of tobacco as motivation for cutting down.

The cost of smoking became the most cited motivator to change smoking behavior (eg, quitting and cutting down), particularly for those who lived in low socioeconomic areas, smoked more cigarettes per day, drank alcohol, and had high/very high psychological distress.

A change in the main federal tobacco control intervention implemented in Australia from mass-media campaigns to tobacco tax increases has likely led to cost, rather than health, being the main motivation cited for changing smoking behavior in Australia since 2013. Further monitoring is needed to ensure the harmonization in tax rates for RYO and factory-made cigarettes has effectively reduced the price difference between these products because the lower cost of RYO may have reduced the effectiveness of tax increases as a motivator to change smoking behavior.