Tobacco's Harmful Effect on Youth:

New Findings from Tobacconomics & Think Tank Partners in LMICs

Preventing youth from starting to smoke or even delaying their initiation generates enormous positive public health rewards. 

We look back at the recent research on the way tobacco consumption, spending, and production threaten the wellbeing of youth in low- and middle-income countries, as well as the potential for tobacco taxation to counteract these effects.

Research Produced & Policy Implications

Working with local research groups in Asia, Latin America, and Southeastern Europe, we released reports, working papers, policy briefs, and other products to inform more effective tobacco tax policies to protect youth. 

Crowding out in Montenegro

• Smoking households dedicate less of their budget to food items, clothing, housing, and education than non-smoking ones.
• They also spend more on bars and restaurants, alcohol, coffee, and sugary drinks.
• The differences in spending patterns threaten the future development and earning potential of children in smoking households.

Impoverishing effect in Albania

• Spending on tobacco as well as the related medical expenses pushed nearly 13,000 households below the poverty line, including more than 10,000 children.
• Tobacco use leads to and exacerbates household poverty thus harming the youngest members of smoking households.

Stunting in Indonesia

• Increasing household cigarette spending by 7% would increase the likelihood of stunting among children in the household by 25.6%.
• Higher cigarette spending is associated with an increased risk for premature and extremely premature births.
• Tobacco spending has long-term consequences for children's physical health and development.

Tobacco farming in North Macedonia

• Farming tobacco requires large amounts of unpaid family labor, including children.
• Youth are 2.3x more likely to harvest tobacco than other crops.
• Relying on child labor to grow tobacco may prevent them from pursuing an education or other beneficial opportunities.

Tobacco tax policies & youth smoking around the world

• A 10% increase in cigarette prices would delay smoking initiation by 4 months in Argentina, almost 2.5 years in Brazil, and 1.25 years in Mexico.
• Increasing the specific excise tax to 51 euros per 1,000 cigarettes would deter 648 youths from smoking in Montenegro.
• Introducing a tiered specific excise tax of 65% and increasing the minimum price would deter nearly 1 million youth from smoking in Bangladesh.

Coming up...

Research on youth smoking initiation and sensitivity to cigarette prices will be coming soon from our partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Vietnam.

Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up to date on the latest research on the economics of tobacco use and tobacco taxation!