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“It’s All We Got Left”. Why Poor Smokers are Less Sensitive to Cigarette Price Increases

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  • Patrick Peretti-Watel

    (INSERM, U912 (SE4S), IPC, 232 Bd Sainte-Marguerite, 13273 Marseille Cedex 09, France
    Université Aix Marseille, IRD, UMR-S912, 58 Bd Charles Livon, 13284 Marseille Cedex 07, France
    ORS PACA, Observatoire Régional de la Santé Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, 23 rue Stanislas Torrents, 13006 Marseille, France)

  • Jean Constance

    (INSERM, U912 (SE4S), IPC, 232 Bd Sainte-Marguerite, 13273 Marseille Cedex 09, France)

Abstract

In France, between 2000 and 2008, concurrently to the increase in cigarette price, we observed an increasing social differentiation of cigarette smoking: smoking prevalence decreased among executive managers and professional occupations, it remained stable among manual workers, and it increased among the unemployed. Poor smokers were heavier smokers, they were more frequently tobacco-dependent, and they were more prone to smoke automatically or to reduce “negative feelings”. In-depth interviews provided a more comprehensive insight into poor smokers’ motivations: they were aware of their addiction, but they also talked about the pleasure they get from smoking, and they highlighted the essential needs satisfied by smoking: stress relief, cheap leisure, compensation for loneliness, break-up or redundancy… Acknowledging the functional aspects of smoking experienced by poor smokers helps to understand why increasing the cigarette price is unlikely to deter many poor smokers from smoking.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrick Peretti-Watel & Jean Constance, 2009. "“It’s All We Got Left”. Why Poor Smokers are Less Sensitive to Cigarette Price Increases," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:6:y:2009:i:2:p:608-621:d:3953
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McKie, L. & Laurier, E. & Taylor, R. J. & Lennox, A. S., 2003. "Eliciting the smoker's agenda: implications for policy and practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 83-94, January.
    2. Franks, P. & Jerant, A.F. & Leigh, J.P. & Lee, D. & Chiem, A. & Lewis, I. & Lee, S., 2007. "Cigarette prices, smoking, and the poor: Implications of recent trends," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(10), pages 1873-1877.
    3. Barbeau, E.M. & Krieger, N. & Soobader, M.-J., 2004. "Working Class Matters: Socioeconomic Disadvantage, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Smoking in NHIS 2000," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(2), pages 269-278.
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    Cited by:

    1. Myriam Khlat & Fred Pampel & Damien Bricard & Stéphane Legleye, 2016. "Disadvantaged Social Groups and the Cigarette Epidemic: Limits of the Diffusion of Innovations Vision," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-6, December.

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