The effects of Cigarette Price Incentive and Regulatory Policies in Taiwan

Background: Price affects the demand for cigarettes, but its direct impact on smoking behaviors remains unclear. This study evaluated the effects of cigarette price increases and non-pricing tobacco control policies on adult smoking behaviors in Taiwan, using data from national annual survey during 2004 similar to 2015 with 166,325 valid respondents. Methods: We established mixed-effects models of logistic regression for each of the three dependent variables, "smoking," "quit attempts," and "cessation maintenance," to characterize smoking behaviors. Socioeconomic and sociodemographic factors were also included in the models. Results: Non-pricing tobacco control policies had no significant effects on smoking behaviors. Conversely, cigarette price increases were highly associated with changes in smoking behavior. A 1% increase in the price of cigarettes reduced the odds ratio of smoking (ORs) by -1.361% +/- 0.114%, increased the OR of quit attempts (ORq) by 0.982% +/- 0.129%, and increased the OR of maintaining smoking cessation (ORm) by 5.027% +/- 1.758%. We found that: (1) men were generally more sensitive to changes in cigarette prices than women (2) middle-aged adults were not sensitive to changes in cigarette prices. Conclusions: Anti-tobacco pricing measures had a significant effect on smoking behavior. Price-insensitive groups were also identified, such as employment, marriage, and middle-aged women. Specific selective anti-tobacco measures should be implemented for these groups.