Some smokers switched to higher-nicotine cigarettes as price hikes caused their overall cigarette consumption to drop, according to researchers from RTI International.

Newswise reported Oct. 22 that researchers reviewed data from supermarket scanners gathered between 1994 and 2004 and concluded that as prices rose, smokers became more likely to buy full-strength cigarettes rather than light or ultralight brands.

"Price increases are effective at reducing the prevalence of smoking and reducing the number of cigarettes smoked per day among remaining smokers," said study lead author Matthew Farrelly, Ph.D. "Smokers who have cut back on the number of cigarettes they smoke per day can maintain, or even increase, their daily tar and nicotine intake by changing the way they smoke their cigarettes. The results reported in this paper show that smokers can compensate for rising prices in other ways as well, by choosing to smoke full-flavor rather than light cigarettes, for example."

The study appeared in the October 2007 issue of the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.