A slight increase in cigarette price could cure smoking habit, says report

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Simple and easy way found to make smokers quit on cigarettes
Simple and easy way found to make smokers quit on cigarettes

New Delhi : The government can make smokers quit cigarettes with a marginal hike in the selling price. A study has found that many smokers would distance themselves from the cigarettes if the price is increased by one dollar.

The study, which was published in the journal Epidemiology, conducted a study for 10 years to know how different price data affected smoking habits in the people living in the neighbourhood.

"Older adult smokers have been smoking for a long time and tend to have lower rates of smoking cessation compared to younger populations, suggesting deeply entrenched behaviour that is difficult to change," said Stephanie Mayne, former doctoral student at Drexel University in the US.

"Our finding that increases in cigarette prices were associated with quitting smoking in the older population suggests that cigarette taxes may be a particularly effective lever for behaviour change," said Mayne.

The study included smokers ranging in age from 44 to 84. Data was taken from the study population between 2002 and 2012 as a part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Artherosclerosis (MESA).

Based on results from this study, raising cigarette prices appears to be a better strategy for encouraging smoking cessation across all ages, researchers said.