A new study that compared smoking rates, economic status and cigarette prices concludes that raising the price of cigarettes does not appear to affect whether smokers decide to quit, Reuters reported Sept. 11.

Researcher Peter Franks of the University of California at Davis and colleagues said that while smoking has declined over the past 20 years in the U.S., and the trend does coincide with an increase in the average price of a pack of cigarettes, the two are not necessarily related. Tellingly, smoking among low-income Americans actually increased somewhat during the study period, while falling among the higher-income population.

"People who are still smoking are probably selectively those who are more addicted, so they are less likely to quit smoking if the price of their habit increases," said Franks, who concluded, "Future increases in price (for example through taxation) are unlikely to yield health benefits in terms of significant numbers of persons quitting."

The study appears online and will be published in the October 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.