Stay Informed

Sign up for news & alerts

Already signed up?
Login here
What Can I Do?


Get Help
Need alcohol or drug help for yourself or someone else? GET HELP
Continuing Education
Free online courses for addiction counselors LEARN ONLINE
Resources
Resources
Find useful publications, online documents & more.


DrugScreening.org


 

Smoking Increases as Economy Worsens
November 12, 2008

Share Share Email
Email
Print
Print
SubscribeSubscribe
News Summary

Smoking in the U.S. has increased due to stresses associated with rising unemployment rates, weakening retirement funds, and an overall, slowing economy, according to a new survey.

Reuters reported Nov. 10 that the American Legacy Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based anti-smoking advocacy group, hired Harris Interactive to survey 2,375 Americans ages 18 and older about their smoking behaviors as related to the economy.

Economic stress seems to be affecting lower-income smokers (those with household incomes at $35,000 or less) and unemployed smokers the most. The survey found that more lower-income smokers said they smoked more cigarettes per day than employed smokers, and 29 percent of unemployed smokers reported increases in smoking compared to 17 percent of employed smokers.

The survey also showed that 31 percent of female smokers reported that they smoked because of economy-related worries, compared to 17 percent of men.

Anxiety related to economic troubles drove 7 percent of current smokers to begin smoking again, the survey showed, while 9 percent of previous smokers said they were tempted to resume smoking.

One-fifth of smokers who said they were stressed about the economy said they switched to a cheaper brand in an effort to save money.

"The turbulent global stock markets have caused virtually every American a certain level of stress," said American Legacy Foundation CEO Cheryl Healton. "Those who also struggle with an addiction to tobacco products are at an increased disadvantage as they contemplate quitting, or feel the urge to smoke more cigarettes."

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by virgilk on 14 Nov 08 10:09 AM EST
It could be that without a job and too much time too worry, people have more time to smoke. Most work places are smoke free and that is true without smoking bans. Even those who loose their jobs because of Smoking Bans will have time to smoke more.

Posted by ichoosefreedom on 13 Nov 08 11:24 PM EST
Here's a suggestion. Maybe trying to force people to quit just plain backfires. How about that? Maybe because of TOBACCO CONTROL, more people are smoking. You CANNOT "DENORMALIZE" something people enjoy doing. You've made us smokers the scourge of the world but we're not quitting. Maybe YOU'RE the reason why.

Posted by maxwood on 13 Nov 08 06:45 PM EST
The last time I was in Walgreens (buying safety pins or something) I had time to wait at the counter studying the wall behind the salesclerk, which contained two main categories of goods: cigarettes at mostly $7/pack (IL prices) and stop-smoking remedies in boxes of various sizes (Nicorettes $49-$77 etc.). Enough to make a financially worried sucker think twice and go on buying the "cheaper" remedy (fast relief of craving while I continue staring down the money problem, I'll quit next year).

Posted by John French on 13 Nov 08 12:45 PM EST
Apples and Oranges Again. The Harris Poll increases in smoking AND their relationship to the economy were self-reported. Reports of cigarette sales are counts of actual cigarettes, usually based on taxation, and reliable for commercially vended cigarettes. Although occasional smokers are different, they are a small part of the smoking population. In general, I agree with Bill Godshall's implication that the Harris survey is questionable. But is sounds good, don't it :-)

Posted by Bill Godshall on 13 Nov 08 12:29 PM EST
For the first 3 quarters of 2008, cigarette sales have declined about 4% (compared to a year ago), and Philip Morris USA (with 51% of the US market share) just reported a 4.8% decline in cigarette sales during the 3rd quarter. The Legacy Foundation's survey included occassional smokers (i.e. non daily smokers), who now comprise about 25% of all cigarette smokers, but who only consume 1%-2% of all cigarettes. Besides the potential skewing of survey results due to occassional smokers, the responses of survey participants may have influenced by the wording and order of the questions.

Your Turn! Post a public comment (read guidelines):

Name:

Comment:
(limit 200
words)

Enter this word
(help):
Change

GUIDELINES: 
To keep this feature useful for all, please:

  1. Keep it clean, courteous, and on-topic. Comments are meant for thoughtful discussion of the article published above.

  2. Do not post promotional links to organizations, products or services, or personal requests for assistance (get help).

  3. Proof your comments carefully, use good spelling and punctuation, and don't use ALL CAPS. Comments are published immediately and cannot be edited.

Deceptive, slanderous and commercially-motivated posts are prohibited. We reserve the right to remove comments not conforming to these guidelines. (Report a comment).

Have questions or feedback? Contact us.