Us State Cigarette Tax Increases and Smoke‐Free Legislation in Relation to Cigarette Expenditure across Household Socio‐Economic Circumstances: A Quasi‐Experimental Study

Abstract

Background and Aims: While research has focused on outcomes of tobacco control policies, less is known about the mechanisms by which policies may affect tobacco use. We estimated the associations of changes in cigarette taxes and smoke‐free legislation with (1) any household cigarette expenditure and (2) the level of household expenditure on cigarettes, as well as (3) tested interactions with socio‐economic circumstances.Design: Difference‐in‐differences regression models to estimate the associations between changes in US state cigarette taxes and smoke‐free legislation with changes in household expenditure on cigarettes.Setting: Forty US states and District of Columbia.Participants: From annual, cross‐sectional surveys (with a longitudinal component) between 2000 and 2014, 128 138 households interviewed quarterly in the Consumer Expenditure Survey.MeasurementsDependent measures included any household cigarette expenditure, expenditure in real dollars and budget share of cigarette expenditure. Policy measures included state cigarette taxes and 100% smoke‐free legislation. Covariates included respondent age, race/ethnicity, sex; household education; poverty level; family structure; and number of children and adults.