The association between job loss and alcohol and tobacco use

This study used Australian longitudinal data to examine the effect of being fired or made redundant on alcohol and tobacco use.

Fixed effect panel analyses of 19 waves of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, a voluntary representative longitudinal survey of over 17 000 Australians.

143 517 survey responses from 15 934 individuals, with the effective sample varying by analysis.

Outcome variables were drinking status (drinker/non-drinker), drinking frequency (days per week/month), drinking amount (number of standard drinks), smoking status (smoker/non-smoker), tobacco consumption (packets per week). Covariates included age, sex, Indigenous status, marital status, country of birth (Australia vs. other country), remoteness of residence, year 12 completion, mental health [measured using the mental health component of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF36)], poor health, low socio-economic status, whether separated/divorced in the last 12 months, whether experienced a sudden loss of income in the last 12 months and survey year.

After adjusting for the effects of other factors, there is no statistically significant association between being fired and the risk that a non-drinker will initiate or return to drinking alcohol [odds ratio (OR) = 0.889, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.894-1.093]. Nor is there a statistically significant association between being fired and the frequency with which a drinker drinks [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.008, 95% CI = 0.999-1.016)]. There is an association between being fired and the amount of alcohol consumed (IRR = 1.030, 95% CI = 1.018-1.093), but the association is weak. Being fired is associated with an increase in the likelihood of initiating or returning to tobacco use (OR = 1.276, 95% CI = 1.153-1.412) and with the quantity of tobacco smoked (IRR = 1.024, 95% CI = 1.003-1.046). In the latter case, however, the effect is small.

There appears to be limited evidence that being fired or made redundant in the past year increases alcohol and/or tobacco consumption among Australians.