Equity implications of tobacco taxation: results from WHO FCTC investment cases.

BACKGROUND: Across time, geographies and country income levels, smoking prevalence is highest among people with lower incomes. Smoking causes further impoverishment of those on the lower end of the income spectrum through expenditure on tobacco and greater risk of ill health. METHODS: This paper summarises the results of investment case equity analyses for 19 countries, presenting the effects of increased taxation on smoking prevalence, health and expenditures. We disaggregate the number of people who smoke, smoking-attributable mortality and cigarette expenditures using smoking prevalence data by income quintile. A uniform 30% increase in price was applied across countries. We estimated the effects of the price increase on smoking prevalence, mortality and cigarette expenditures. RESULTS: In all but one country (Bhutan), a one-time 30% increase in price would reduce smoking prevalence by the largest percent among the poorest 20% of the population. All income groups in all countries would spend more on cigarettes with a 30% increase in price. However, the poorest 20% would pay an average of 12% of the additional money spent. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that health benefits from increases in price through taxation are pro-poor. Even in countries where smoking prevalence is higher among wealthier groups, increasing prices can still be pro-poor due to variable responsiveness to higher prices. The costs associated with higher smoking prevalence among the poor, together with often limited access to healthcare services and displaced spending on basic needs, result in health inequality and perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

Advancing progress on tobacco control in low-income and middle-income countries through economic analysis.

BACKGROUND: More than 80% of the world's 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where progress to address tobacco and its harms has been slow. The perception that tobacco control detracts from economic priorities has impeded progress. The Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is leading the FCTC 2030 project, which includes technical assistance to LMICs to analyse the economic costs of tobacco use and the benefits of tobacco control. METHODS: The Secretariat of the WHO FCTC, United Nations Development Programme and WHO supported 21 LMICs between 2017 and 2022 to complete national investment cases to guide country implementation of the WHO FCTC, with analytical support provided by RTI International. These country-level cases combine customised estimates of tobacco's economic impact with qualitative analysis of socio-political factors influencing tobacco control. This paper overviews the approach, observed tobacco control advancements and learnings from 21 countries: Armenia, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Eswatini, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Laos, Madagascar, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tunisia and Zambia. RESULTS: Tobacco control advancements in line with investment case findings and recommendations have been observed in 17 of the 21 countries, and many have improved collaboration and policy coherence between health and economic stakeholders. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco control must be seen as more than a health concern. Tobacco control leads to economic benefits and contributes to sustainable development. National investment cases can support country ownership and leadership to advance tobacco control.

Interpreting results, impacts and implications from WHO FCTC tobacco control investment cases in 21 low-income and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco control investment cases analyse the health and socioeconomic costs of tobacco use and the benefits that can be achieved from implementing measures outlined in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). They are intended to provide policy-makers and other stakeholders with country-level evidence that is relevant, useful and responsive to national priorities and policy context. METHODS: This paper synthesises findings from investment cases conducted in Armenia, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Eswatini, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Laos, Madagascar, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tunisia and Zambia. We examine annual socioeconomic costs associated with tobacco use, focusing on smoking-related healthcare expenditures, the value of lives lost due to tobacco-related mortality and workplace productivity losses due to smoking. We explore potential benefits associated with WHO FCTC tobacco demand-reduction measures. RESULTS: Tobacco use results in average annual socioeconomic losses of US$95 million, US$610 million and US$1.6 billion among the low-income (n=3), lower-middle-income (n=12) and upper-middle-income countries (n=6) included in this analysis, respectively. These losses are equal to 1.1%, 1.8% and 2.9% of average annual national gross domestic product, respectively. Implementation and enforcement of WHO FCTC tobacco demand-reduction measures would lead to reduced tobacco use, fewer tobacco-related deaths and reduced socioeconomic losses. CONCLUSIONS: WHO FCTC tobacco control measures would provide a positive return on investment in every country analysed.

Evolving methodology of national tobacco control investment cases.

BACKGROUND: This article describes an investment case methodology for tobacco control that was applied in 36 countries between 2017 and 2022. METHODS: The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) investment cases compared two scenarios: a base case that calculated the tobacco-attributable mortality, morbidity and economic costs with status quo tobacco control, and an intervention scenario that described changes in those same outcomes from fully implementing and enforcing a variety of proven, evidence-based tobacco control policies and interventions. Health consequences included the tobacco-attributable share of mortality and morbidity from 38 diseases. The healthcare expenditures and the socioeconomic costs from the prevalence of those conditions were combined to calculate the total losses due to tobacco. The monetised benefits of improvements in health resulting from tobacco control implementation were compared with costs of expanding tobacco control to assess returns on investment in each country. An institutional and context analysis assessed the political and economic dimensions of tobacco control in each context. RESULTS: We applied a rigorous yet flexible methodology in 36 countries over 5 years. The replicable model and framework may be used to inform development of tobacco control cases in countries worldwide. CONCLUSION: Investment cases constitute a tool that development partners and advocates have demanded in even greater numbers. The economic argument for tobacco control provided by this set of country-contextualised analyses can be a strong tool for policy change.

Global smoking-related deaths averted due to MPOWER policies implemented at the highest level between 2007 and 2020.

BACKGROUND: In response to the harm caused by tobacco use worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) World Health Assembly actioned the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005. To help countries meet their FCTC obligations, the WHO introduced in 2008 the MPOWER policy package and by 2020 the FCTC had been ratified by 182 parties. The package consists of six evidence-based demand reduction smoking cessation policies to assist countries to achieve best practice. We used published evaluation results and replicated the published model to estimate current policy achievement and demonstrate the impact and equity of the MPOWER policy package in reducing the global number of smokers and smoking-attributable deaths (SADs) between 2007 and 2020. METHODS: We replicated an evaluation model (the Abridged SimSmoke model) used previously for country impact assessments and validated our replicated reduction in SADs for policies between 2014 and 2016 against the published results. The replicated model was then applied to report on the country level SADs averted from achieving the highest level of implementation, that is best practice in MPOWER policies, between 2016 and 2020. The latest results were then combined with past published results to estimate the reduction in SADs since the commencement of the MPOWER policy package. Country level income status was used to investigate the equity in the uptake of MPOWER policies worldwide. RESULTS: Identical estimates for SADs in 41 out of 56 MPOWER policies implemented in 43 countries suggested good agreement in the model replication. The replicated model overestimated the reduction in SADs by 159,800 (1.5%) out of a total of 10.5 million SADs with three countries contributing to the majority of this replication discrepancy. Updated analysis estimated a reduction of 8.57 million smokers and 3.37 million SADs between 2016 and 2020. Between 2007 and 2020, 136 countries had adopted and maintained at least one MPOWER policy at the highest level which was associated with a reduction in 81.0 million smokers and 28.3 million SADs. Seventy five percent of this reduction was in middle income countries, 20% in high income and less than 5% in low income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable progress has been made by MPOWER policies to reduce the prevalence of smokers globally. However, there is inequality in the implementation and maintenance, reach and influence, and the number of SADs averted. Future research to modify the model could provide a more comprehensive evaluation of past and future progress in tobacco control policies, worldwide.

Boosting self-efficacy and improving practices for smoking prevention and cessation among South American cancer care providers with a web-based algorithm.

BACKGROUND: Digital technologies have positively impacted the availability and usability of clinical algorithms through the advancement in mobile health. Therefore, this study aimed to determine if a web-based algorithm designed to support the decision-making process of cancer care providers (CCPs) differentially impacted their self-reported self-efficacy and practices for providing smoking prevention and cessation services in Peru and Colombia. METHODS: A simple decision-making tree algorithm was built in REDCap using information from an extensive review of the currently available smoking prevention and cessation resources. We employed a pre-post study design with a mixed-methods approach among 53 CCPs in Peru and Colombia for pilot-testing the web-based algorithm during a 3-month period. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the CCPs' self-efficacy and practices before and after using the web-based algorithm. The usability of the web-based algorithm was quantitatively measured with the system usability scale (SUS), as well as qualitatively through the analysis of four focus groups conducted among the participating CCPs. RESULTS: The pre-post assessments indicated that the CCPs significantly improved their self-efficacy and practices toward smoking prevention and cessation services after using the web-based algorithm. The overall average SUS score obtained among study participants was 82.9 (± 9.33) [Peru 81.5; Colombia 84.1]. After completing the qualitative analysis of the focus groups transcripts, four themes emerged: limited resources currently available for smoking prevention and cessation in oncology settings, merits of the web-based algorithm, challenges with the web-based algorithm, and suggestions for improving this web-based decision-making tool. CONCLUSION: The web-based algorithm showed high usability and was well-received by the CCPs in Colombia and Peru, promoting a preliminary improvement in their smoking prevention and cessation self-efficacy and practices.

Which countries are ready for a tobacco endgame? A scoping review and cluster analysis.

Various countries have set tobacco endgame targets to eliminate tobacco use by a certain year. Tobacco endgames are generally considered more feasible in countries with advanced tobacco control measures and a smoking prevalence of 15% or less. We conducted a scoping review of 563 articles sourced from news, academic literature, and grey literature to examine global tobacco endgame progress, and grouped 153 countries into clusters based on their tobacco policy implementation score and smoking prevalence to systematically identify countries that might be well positioned to succeed in a tobacco endgame. The EU, Pacific Islands, and 18 other individual countries have set tobacco endgame targets, with another seven countries described as well positioned for an endgame. These were mostly high-income countries with higher smoking prevalence. We identified 28 endgame-ready countries with advanced tobacco policies and a low smoking prevalence. Of these, only five were part of tobacco endgame movements; the remaining 23 were all low-income or middle-income countries in Africa, Latin America, or Asia. Therefore, the global tobacco endgame movement should focus more on low-income and middle-income countries with low smoking rates and advanced tobacco policies, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Exposure to pro-tobacco and anti-tobacco media messages and events and smoking behaviour among adolescents in Gambia.

BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread prevalence of adolescent smoking in Gambia, a West African country, there is limited research exploring the relationships between exposure to pro-tobacco and anti-tobacco media messages and events and smoking behaviour among young people. This study investigates the interplay of these exposures and smoking behaviour among 11-17-year-old adolescents in Gambia. METHODS: Secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2017 Gambia Global Youth and Tobacco Survey (GYTS), which included a total of 9,127 respondents. Descriptive and inferential analyses, including proportions, Pearson's chi-squared tests, and multivariable logistic regression models, were employed to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: The final model revealed significant associations between exposure to anti-tobacco media messages and events and smoking behaviour. Adolescents exposed to anti-tobacco media messages had a 29% increased odds of smoking (aOR 1.29,CI = 1.08,1.53) compared to those unexposed, while exposure to anti-tobacco media events showed a 31% increased odds (aOR 1.31,CI = 1.09,1.59) compared to those unexposed. Exposure to pro-tobacco messages, such as witnessing tobacco use on TV (aOR 1.41, CI = 1.17,1.69) and owning objects with tobacco brand logos (aOR 1.49,CI = 1.19,1.86), was associated with higher odds of smoking. Covariates, including sex, age, and exposure to smoking behaviour by significant others, also demonstrated associations with smoking behaviour. Notably, male respondents showed significantly higher odds of smoking (aOR = 4.01,CI = 3.28,4.89) compared to females. Respondents aged 15 years and older had increased odds of smoking (aOR = 1.47,CI = 1.22,1.76) compared to those below 15 years old. Those whose fathers smoke displayed higher odds of smoking (aOR = 1.35, CI = 1.04,1.76) compared to individuals with non-smoking parents. Additionally, those whose closest friends smoke showed remarkably higher odds of smoking (aOR = 2.87,CI = 2.37, 3.48) compared to those without such influence. CONCLUSION: This study underscores the significant impact of exposure to both anti-tobacco and pro-tobacco media messages and events on smoking behaviour among adolescents in Gambia. However, pro-tobacco messages had a greater influence on smoking prevalence than anti-tobacco messages and events. Understanding these associations is crucial for devising effective public health interventions aimed at reducing tobacco use in this population.

Smoking and mental disability : A mixed observational study using a diverse sample of medical-social establishments and services / Tabagisme et handicap psychique : étude observationnelle mixte dans un échantillon diversifié d'établissements et de services médico-sociaux.

INTRODUCTION: A multi-center observational study was carried out in ten ESMS, using a mixed methodology (site visits, questionnaire survey, semi-directive group interviews with professionals and individual interviews with users). PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH: The aim of this article is to describe the management and prevention of smoking in ESMS for people with mental health disorders, and to characterize and identify the smoking behaviors and representations of ESMS users and the professionals working there. RESULTS: The study made it possible to distinguish between ESMS in terms of the organization of smoking areas and tobacco prevention initiatives. It also revealed that 37 percent of respondents among the professionals said they smoked tobacco, with some of them explaining that they smoked with users and sometimes gave them cigarettes. With regard to prevention, there was a consensus among professionals that they should help users who wanted to stop smoking. Professionals were divided, however, on the need for more active prevention, citing the users' freedom and the fact that ESMS are places where people live. Among the users, 47 percent said they were smokers. Of the users who smoked, 55 percent said they wanted to stop. Interviews with the users revealed that twelve of them wanted to quit, with some asking for help and more assistance from professionals. CONCLUSIONS: This report suggests that intervention research could be developed in ESMS for people with mental health disorders, who could benefit from the smoking prevention actions identified in the facilities and services investigated.

Introduction: Une étude observationnelle multicentrique a été réalisée dans dix ESMS et mobilisait une méthodologie mixte (visite des structures, enquête par questionnaires, entretiens semi-directifs collectifs avec des professionnels et individuels avec des usagers). But de l'étude: Cet article vise à décrire la gestion et la prévention du tabagisme dans des établissements et services médico-sociaux (ESMS) accueillant des personnes avec un trouble psychique, et à caractériser et identifier les comportements tabagiques et les représentations de leurs usagers et professionnels. Résultats: L'étude a permis de distinguer les ESMS au regard de l'organisation des espaces du tabagisme et des actions de prévention du tabac. Elle a permis également de constater que 37 % des professionnels qui ont répondu déclaraient fumer du tabac, une partie d'entre eux expliquant fumer avec les usagers et leur donner parfois des cigarettes. Concernant la prévention, un consensus se dégageait chez les professionnels sur le fait d'aider les usagers qui souhaitaient arrêter. Les professionnels étaient cependant divisés à l'égard d'une prévention plus active, invoquant la liberté de l'usager et le fait que les ESMS sont des lieux de vie. 47 % des usagers se disaient fumeurs. 55 % des usagers fumeurs déclaraient vouloir arrêter. Les entretiens avec les usagers ont permis de constater que douze d'entre eux souhaitaient arrêter, une partie réclamant de l'aide et d'être davantage aidés par les professionnels. Conclusions: Cet état des lieux invite à développer des recherches interventionnelles dans les ESMS accueillant des personnes avec un trouble psychique qui pourraient tirer profit des actions de prévention du tabac repérées dans des structures enquêtées.

Association between textual and pictorial warnings on tumbac (waterpipe tobacco) boxes and motivation to quit waterpipe smoking among Lebanese and Iraqi adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Waterpipe tobacco smoking has increased tremendously at a global level among all age groups, particularly young people. Previous studies have examined the impact of waterpipe tobacco pictorial health warnings on adults but scarce studies were done on adolescents. The aim of this study was to assess the association of textual versus pictorial warnings on tumbac boxes and the motivation to quit waterpipe smoking among adolescents located in two Eastern Mediterranean countries Lebanon and Iraq. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between May and November 2022, involving 294 adolescents waterpipe smokers from Lebanon and Iraq. The questionnaire included the Lebanese Waterpipe Dependence Smoking-11, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, the Waterpipe Harm Perception Scale, Waterpipe Knowledge Scale, Waterpipe Attitude Scale, the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence, and the Motivation to Stop Scale. RESULTS: When adjusting the results over confounding variables, the results showed that compared to finding the warnings to stop smoking not efficacious at all, adolescents who find the warnings moderately (aOR = 2.83) and very (aOR = 6.64) efficacious had higher motivation to quit. Compared to finding the warnings not increasing their curiosity for information about how to stop waterpipe smoking at all, participants who confessed that warnings increased their curiosity a little (aOR = 2.59), moderately (aOR = 3.34) and very (aOR = 3.58) had higher motivation to quit. Compared to not considering changing the tumbac brand if the company uses pictorial warnings, adolescents who would consider changing the tumbac brand (aOR = 2.15) had higher motivation to quit. CONCLUSION: Pictorial and textual warnings on waterpipe packs were associated with higher motivation to stop waterpipe smoking. Public health education programs for this purpose seem warranted.

An overview of systematic reviews on predictors of smoking cessation among young people.

Understanding the factors that influence smoking cessation among young people is crucial for planning targeted cessation approaches. The objective of this review was to comprehensively summarize evidence for predictors of different smoking cessation related behaviors among young people from currently available systematic reviews. We searched six databases and reference lists of the included articles for studies published up to October 20, 2023. All systematic reviews summarizing predictors of intention to quit smoking, quit attempts, or smoking abstinence among people aged 10-35 years were included. We excluded reviews on effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention; smoking prevention and other smoking behaviors; cessation of other tobacco products use, dual use, and polysubstance use. We categorized the identified predictors into 5 different categories for 3 overlapping age groups. JBI critical appraisal tool and GRADE-CERqual approach were used for quality and certainty assessment respectively. A total of 11 systematic reviews were included in this study; all summarized predictors of smoking abstinence/quit attempts and two also identified predictors of intention to quit smoking. Seven reviews had satisfactory critical appraisal score and there was minimal overlapping between the reviews. We found 4 'possible' predictors of intention to quit smoking and 119 predictors of smoking abstinence/quit attempts. Most of these 119 predictors were applicable for ~10-29 years age group. We had moderate confidence on the 'probable', 'possible', 'insufficient evidence', and 'inconsistent direction' predictors and low confidence on the 'probably unrelated' factors. The 'probable' predictors include a wide variety of socio-demographic factors, nicotine dependence, mental health, attitudes, behavioral and psychological factors, peer and family related factors, and jurisdictional policies. These predictors can guide improvement of existing smoking cessation interventions or planning of new targeted intervention programs. Other predictors as well as predictors of intention to quit smoking need to be further investigated among adolescents and young adults separately.

Effectiveness of a media literacy-based smoking prevention program in female adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effectiveness of a media literacy-based smoking prevention program based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior in female adolescents. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with female high school students aged 16-17 years in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The program provided eight sessions over 4 weeks. Quantitative data were collected before and after online surveys in an intervention (n = 21) and control (n = 21) groups, and analyzed using mixed analysis of variance. Qualitative data on participation experiences was collected by requesting the participants to answer open-ended questions once a week during the intervention and performing co-occurrence analysis of specific terms in the responses was conducted through text mining. RESULTS: Although the program decreased smoking intention and increased smoking media literacy in the intervention group, there were no significant differences between the groups. Qualitative results obtained from the intervention group showed cognitive and behavioral changes in the perception of the harmfulness of e-cigarettes in the media and the expression of a willingness to overcome the temptation to smoke. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that the enhancement of smoking media literacy, specifically by correcting misconceptions regarding e-cigarettes promoted by the new media, contributes smoking prevention in female adolescents. It supports calls for an expanded role of public health professionals in health education at the school level.

A Scoping Review of Tobacco Control Health Communication in Africa: Moving towards Involving Young People.

Health communication has been highlighted as a cost-effective preventive intervention in Africa, where the prevalence of tobacco use is still relatively low compared to other World Health Organization (WHO) regions. This scoping review aimed to examine tobacco control health communication interventions in Africa. The review was guided by the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Data was extracted from 20 peer-reviewed papers, WHO Global Health Observatory on anti-tobacco mass-media campaigns for 54 African countries, and 6 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control reports on Article 12. Data extraction informed by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) data-extraction questions was used for peer-reviewed studies while a pre-determined template was used for the other sources. Narrative data synthesis informed by the JBI manual for evidence synthesis was employed. A lack of research that comprehensively addresses all areas of health communication and inconsistent use of health communication campaigns were identified. Only an average of 6 countries had ever implemented high-quality national mass-media campaigns in a decade, while an average of 33 countries consistently failed to conduct campaigns that lasted more than 3 weeks. Although the involvement of key populations was clearly vital to ensure content relevance and message clarity, a lack of health communication informed by young people was observed, as they rarely participated in key decision-making despite reportedly being the targets of interventions. Clear health communication for tobacco-use prevention informed by young people is lacking in African countries. Active participation of young people in developing targeted campaigns is needed to facilitate content relevance and comprehension to ultimately contribute to tobacco-use prevention.

Adopting a WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control-Based Tobacco Control Law in Ethiopia: Sustained Transnational Health Advocacy and Multi-Sectoral Institutionalized Support.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to document how Ethiopia adopted a WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)-based tobacco control law. METHODS: We analyzed publicly available documents, including news media articles, advocacy reports, and government documents. We triangulated these findings by interviewing nine key stakeholders. Data were analyzed to construct a historical and thematic narrative and analyzed through a retrospective policy analysis. RESULTS: Local and international health advocacy efforts helped introduce and support WHO FCTC-based legislation by (1) educating policymakers about the WHO FCTC, (2) providing legal assistance in drafting legislation, (3) generating local data to counter industry claims, and (4) producing media advocacy to expose industry activity. Health advocates worked closely with government officials to create a multi-sectoral tobacco committee to institutionalize efforts and insulate tobacco companies from the policymaking process. Japan Tobacco International bought majority shares of the government-owned tobacco company and attempted to participate in the process, using standard industry tactics to undermine legislative efforts. However, with health advocacy assistance, government officials were able to reject these attempts and adopt a WHO FCTC-based law in 2019 that included 100% smoke-free indoor places, a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, and large pictorial health warning labels, among other provisions. CONCLUSION: Sustained local health advocacy efforts supported by international technical and financial assistance can help establish WHO FCTC-based tobacco control laws. Applying a standardized multi-sectoral approach can establish coordinating mechanisms to further institutionalize the WHO FCTC as a legal tool to build support with other government sectors and insulate the tobacco industry from the policymaking process.