Public support for cigarette price increase in Indonesia

• Main Authors: Renny Nurhasana, Suci Puspita Ratih, Teguh Dartanto, Risky Hartono, Aryana Satrya, Faizal Moeis, Hasbullah Thabrany
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Publishing 2019-10-01
• Series: Tobacco Induced Diseases
• Subjects: cigarette price
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/tid/,111426,0,2.html

Objective The current governmental policies related to tobacco control in Indonesia are known to be not yet effective in reducing tobacco consumption. Therefore, increasing cigarette prices is one of effective instruments that should be supported by governments and public. This study aims to assess public support for cigarette price increase as well as to generate scientific evidence for the government and policymakers. Methods This research is a quantitative study with a cross-sectional design. The data were obtained through phone-based interviews in 1,000 respondents aged ≥ 18 years old in Indonesia. The interviews started on 1 May 2018 and ended on 31 May 2018. Results Respondents in this study were varied in terms of age, gender, level of education, income, occupation, the area of living, and smoking status. This study found that 88% of the respondents including 80% of smokers support cigarette price increase to prevent children from buying cigarettes. Around 66% smokers said they would stop smoking when the cigarette price is Rp60,000 (US$4.3) per package. The multivariate analysis revealed that age, income, cigarette expenditure per day, and perception on the current cigarette price are the predictors of support for cigarette price increase. Conclusions The increase in cigarette prices is supported by the majority of public including smokers. Cigarette price increase is supported by younger people and higher-income groups as they have less expenditure and less likely to smoke. Governments, academics, NGOs, and tobacco control activists should generate the understanding that increasing cigarette prices will improve the quality of life.