Dataset Information

Impact of UK Tobacco Control Policies on Inequalities in Youth Smoking Uptake: A Natural Experiment Study.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:UK countries implemented smoke-free public places legislation and increased the legal age for tobacco purchase from 16 to 18 years between 2006 and 2008. We evaluated the immediate and long-term impacts of these UK policy changes on youth smoking uptake and inequalities therein. AIMS AND METHODS:We studied 74 960 person-years of longitudinal data from 14 992 youths (aged 11-15 years) in annual UK household surveys between 1994 and 2016. Discrete-time event history analyses examined whether changes in rates of youth smoking transitions (initiation, experimentation, and escalation to daily smoking or quitting) or their inequalities (by parental education) were associated with policy implementation. Parallel analyses examined smoke-free legislation and the change in legal age. We interpret the results as a combined effect of the two pieces of legislation as their implementation dates were too close to identify separate effects. Models were adjusted for sex, age, UK country, historical year, tobacco taxation, and e-cigarette prevalence, with multiple imputation for missing data. RESULTS:For both policies, smoking initiation reduced following implementation (change in legal age odds ratio [OR]: 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55 to 0.81; smoke-free legislation OR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.56 to 0.82), while inequalities in initiation narrowed over subsequent years. The legal age change was associated with annual increases in progression from initiation to occasional smoking (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.50) and a reduction in quitting following implementation (OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.35 to 0.94). Similar effects were observed for smoke-free legislation but CIs overlapped the null. CONCLUSIONS:Policies such as these may be highly effective in preventing and reducing socioeconomic inequalities in youth smoking initiation. IMPLICATIONS:UK implementation of smoke-free legislation and an increase in the legal age for tobacco purchase from 16 to 18 years were associated with an immediate reduction in smoking initiation and a narrowing of inequalities in initiation over subsequent years. While the policies were associated with reductions in the initiation, progression to occasional smoking increased and quitting decreased following the legislation.

SUBMITTER: Anyanwu PE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7593354 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Impact of UK Tobacco Control Policies on Inequalities in Youth Smoking Uptake: A Natural Experiment Study.

Anyanwu Philip Emeka PE Craig Peter P Katikireddi Srinivasa Vittal SV Green Michael James MJ

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 20201001 11

<h4>Introduction</h4>UK countries implemented smoke-free public places legislation and increased the legal age for tobacco purchase from 16 to 18 years between 2006 and 2008. We evaluated the immediate and long-term impacts of these UK policy changes on youth smoking uptake and inequalities therein.<h4>Aims and methods</h4>We studied 74 960 person-years of longitudinal data from 14 992 youths (aged 11-15 years) in annual UK household surveys between 1994 and 2016. Discrete-time event history ana ...[more]

PMID: 32469404

Similar Datasets

Project description:ImportanceTobacco smoking is still responsible for more than 6 million preventable deaths annually, most of which occur in low- and middle-income countries. South American countries, Chile in particular, endure some of the highest cigarette smoking prevalence rates globally. Despite the lack of any meaningful increases in cigarette taxes (the most effective tobacco control measure) between 1999 and 2014, cigarette prices in Chile increased sharply almost entirely driven by British American Tobacco (BAT).ObjectiveTo examine the associations between cigarette prices and nonprice tobacco control policies targeted at youth introduced in 2006 (Law 20105) and smoking onset among Chilean youths.Design, setting, and participantsThis study used data from 8 waves of a large national school survey of urban communities in Chile conducted between October and December in 2001, 2003, 2015, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015 and discrete-time hazard models. Data analysis was performed from May 2017 to January 2019.ExposuresPrices, advertising, and retail restrictions.Main outcomes and measuresSmoking onset (the transition between never smoking and smoking) in youth.ResultsIn this study of 181 624 survey respondents in 8751 Chilean secondary schools, higher prices (own-price elasticity [percentage change in quantity demanded in response to a 1% change in price], -0.40; 95% CI, -0.45 to -0.36) and the tobacco control policies enacted in 2006 (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.81-0.85) were associated with lower hazards of starting smoking. The study found that an increase in real prices of 58.6% and the introduction of Law 20105 were associated with similar lower hazards of starting smoking (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.81-0.85); in comparison, between 1999 and 2017, inflation-adjusted cigarette prices increased by 206%.Conclusions and relevanceThe findings suggest that higher prices initiated by BAT and the tobacco control policies enacted by the Ministry of Health in 2006 were associated with lower hazards of starting smoking in Chilean youth. Large cigarette tax increases may be a strategy that can be used to help reduce smoking among youths in Chile.

Project description:IntroductionSmoke-free public places legislation has been introduced in many countries to protect the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoking. While evaluations of smoke-free policies have demonstrated major public health benefits, the impact on youth smoking and inequalities in smoking remains unclear. This project aims to evaluate how smoke-free public places legislation in the UK has impacted on inequalities in youth smoking uptake, and how much of any impact is via changes in parental smoking behaviour.Methods and analysisThe study will constitute secondary analyses of UK data (from the British Household Panel Survey and the Understanding Society study). Merging these datasets gives coverage of the period from 1994 to 2016. Missing data will be handled using multiple imputation. The primary outcomes are the rates and inequalities in initiation, experimentation, escalation to daily smoking and quitting among youths aged 11-15 years. Secondary outcomes include the prevalence of smoking among parents of these youths. Discrete-time event history analysis will be conducted to examine whether changes in the probability of youth smoking transitions are associated with the implementation of the smoke-free public places legislation; and whether any observed effects differ by socioeconomic position and parental smoking. A multilevel logistic regression model will be used to investigate whether there is a step change or change in trend for the prevalence of parental smoking after the policy was implemented. The models will be adjusted for relevant factors (including cigarette taxation, the change in the legal age for purchase of cigarettes and e-cigarette prevalence) that may be associated with the implementation of the legislation.Ethics and disseminationThis project will use anonymised survey data which have been collected following independent ethical review. The dissemination of the study findings will adopt multiple communication channels targeting both scientific and non-scientific audiences.

Project description:ObjectiveThe contribution of smoking to socioeconomic inequalities in health is increasing worldwide, including in Brazil. Youth smoking may play an important role in the increasing social inequalities related to smoking. This study investigates social determinants of smoking among 15-year-old to 19-year-old individuals.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingThe study uses data of 3536 participants aged 15-19 years of age of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) and the National Household Sample Survey (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostragem de Domicilio, PNAD) obtained from household interviews. Smoking was defined as currently smoking tobacco products, regardless of frequency. Household socioeconomic indicators included per capita income, the educational level and sex of the head of the household, the presence of smoking restrictions and the number of smokers (excluding adolescents). Adolescent social factors included years of delaying school and social status (full-time student, working, and neither working nor studying). The hierarchical logistic regression analysis considered the effect of the complex sampling design.ResultsFrom 3536 participants, 6.2% were smokers (95% CI 5.4 to 7.1). More men than women had the habit of smoking (7.2%; 5.9 to 8.6 vs 3.6%; 2.7 to 4.6). The likelihood of smoking was significantly greater for men and older teens. There was an upward trend in the OR of smoking according to the number of smokers in the house. Adolescents living in households with no smoking restrictions had a greater likelihood of being smokers. OR of smoking rose as the number of years of delaying school increased, being about three times greater among adolescents who were working and five times greater among those who were neither studying nor working.ConclusionsResults demonstrate that socioeconomic inequality in smoking is established at younger ages and that school delay as well as school abandonment may contribute to increased smoking-related inequalities. Smoking restrictions at home were protective against adolescents becoming smokers. Living with other smokers was a strong predictor of adolescents becoming smokers.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To coherently examine the responsiveness of the Swedish National Tobacco Quitline (SNTQ) to different types of anti-smoking policies over an extended period of calendar time. DESIGN:Quasi-experimental design with an intervention time-series analysis based on 19 years series of data collected between January 1999 and August 2017 (224 months). Statistical inference on calling rates and rate ratios was obtained using intervention time-series models (Poisson regression and transfer functions). PARTICIPANTS:A total of 179?851 phone calls to the SNTQ. INTERVENTIONS:Recent application of the 2014/40/ European Union (EU) Tobacco Products Directive in 2016. Historical interventions such as a campaign on passive smoking in January 2001; introduction of larger text warnings on cigarette packages since September 2002; banning smoking in restaurants since June 2005; and tobacco tax increase by 10% since January 2012. OUTCOME MEASURE:Calling rates to the SNTQ expressed per 100?000 smokers. SETTING:Sweden. RESULTS:The introduction of large pictorial warnings together with text warnings on cigarette packages (May 2016) was associated with a 35% increase in SNTQ calling rate (95% CI 1.16 to 1.57). The campaign on passive smoking (Jan 2001) was associated with a 61% higher calling rate (95% CI 1.06 to 2.45). Larger text warnings on cigarette packs (Sept 2002) conferred a 28% increment in the calling rate (95% CI 1.15 to 1.42); and prohibition to smoke in restaurants (Jun 2005) was associated with a 15% increase in the calling rate (95% CI 1.01 to 1.30). The 10% tobacco tax increase (Jan 2012) was associated with a 3% higher calling rate (95% CI 0.90 to 1.19). CONCLUSIONS:Within an overall decreasing trend of daily smoking in Sweden, we found that the recent introduction of pictorial warnings together with text warnings and referral text had a discernible positive impact on the calling rates to the smoking quitline. We were also able to detect a likely impact of earlier nationwide interventions.

Dataset Information

Impact of UK Tobacco Control Policies on Inequalities in Youth Smoking Uptake: A Natural Experiment Study.

Publications

Impact of UK Tobacco Control Policies on Inequalities in Youth Smoking Uptake: A Natural Experiment Study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets