| Summary: | Introduction
In India, the retail prices of bidis and cigarettes varied between the two
Global Adult Tobacco Surveys (GATS) conducted in 2009–2010 and 2016–2017.
The relationship between the retail price of smoked tobacco products and their use
is unclear for India. Our study thus aimed to use available datasets to investigate
the association between the retail price and current smoking status of bidis and
cigarettes in India.
Methods
Current smoking status data for bidis and cigarettes were obtained from
the two GATS rounds. The average state-level retail prices of bidis and cigarettes
were obtained from India’s Consumer Price Index- Industrial Workers database.
Descriptive statistics were used to describe current smoking status patterns.
Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to investigate the association
between the retail prices and current smoking status of bidis and cigarettes.
Results
For cigarettes, an increase in the average retail price by one Indian Rupee
was associated with a reduction in the odds of being a current smoker of 7%
(OR=0.925; 95% CI: 0.918–0.932, p<0.001). For bidis, the association between the
retail price and current smoking status was not statistically significant (OR=1.01;
95% CI: 1.00–1.02, p=0.082).
Conclusions
Current increases in the retail prices of tobacco products in India seem
to have an impact on the use of cigarettes but not bidis. This highlights the need
for tobacco product tax increases that result in sufficient retail prices increase to
make all tobacco products less affordable and reduce their use.
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