Differential subjective responsiveness to a future cigarette price increase among South Korean youth smokers.
BACKGROUND
While higher sensitivity to tobacco price increases among younger smokers as a group has been well recognized, little information is available on heterogeneity among youth smokers. This study examined differential responsiveness to an unspecified future cigarette price increase by smoking rate.


METHODS
This study used a subsample of 6,187 current youth smokers derived from the 2007 Korea Youth Health Survey, an annually repeated cross-sectional survey designed to monitor adolescent health behaviors in a large nationally representative sample of middle-school and high-school students in South Korea (N = 74,698). A generalized ordered logit model was estimated to examine independent associations of self-reported responses to an unspecified future cigarette price increase with smoking rate and time since smoking initiation, after controlling for other individual and family characteristics.


RESULTS
Higher smoking rates and longer time since smoking initiation were associated with a greater likelihood to continue smoking despite a future cigarette price increase. When these two factors were accounted for in the model, other individual characteristics were not statistically significant.


CONCLUSIONS
Among youth smokers in South Korea, higher smoking rates were associated with lower self-reported responsiveness to a future cigarette price increase. Tobacco tax increases help prevent youth smokers from progressing to advanced stages of smoking, while certain subgroups of youth smokers, especially with nicotine dependence, may still need other effective cessation interventions.
Program in Health Services and Systems Research, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857. young.do@duke-nus.edu.sg
Young Kyung
YK
Do
Muhammad Assad
MA
Farooqui
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012574:Schools; D057566:Self Report; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013660:Taxes; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology