New research reveals older smoking Aussies are turning to cannabis as tobacco prices increase
New research has revealed why older Aussie smokers are ditching tobacco for a new drug as the price of cigarettes continues to rise.
Health
Don't miss out on the headlines from Health. Followed categories will be added to My News.
New research has revealed older Australians who smoke cigarettes are turning to cannabis as the price of tobacco increases.
The federal government increases tax on tobacco twice a year which has seen the price of cigarettes increase from a few dollars in the 1990s to about $70 for a 25 pack today, making Australia the most expensive place in the world to buy cigarettes.
The tax was introduced to encourage people to stop smoking with studies finding the cost of smoking was motivation for people to quit.
However, new research has found Australians smokers aged over 50 increased their cannabis use when cigarette prices rose.
The research conducted by Curtin University’s School of Accounting, Economics and Finance investigated buying habits of about 100,000 Australians between 2001 and 2019 using data from the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
If found while older Australians were switching tobacco for cannabis, younger Australians aged under 40 decreased their cannabis use when cigarette prices rose, with no change for people aged between 40 and 50.
Researchers found 68,000 Australians aged over 50 would start using cannabis if tobacco prices rose by 10 per cent, by either increasing their existing cannabis use or trying cannabis for the first time as a substitute for tobacco.
Study author Professor Mark Harris said the results were surprising because cannabis and tobacco were generally consumed together.
“In economic terms, if they’re consumed together and it becomes more expensive to buy tobacco, you’d expect cannabis consumption to also fall,” he said.
“But what we’ve found is the relationships between the drugs, and the way people use them, potentially changes with the age of a consumer: cannabis can change from a complement of tobacco, to a replacement.”
Co-study author Dr Ranjodh Singh said applying consumer behaviour research could create effective health promotion strategies.
“In economics, we have this idea that people behave rationally, that we act according to price,” he said.
“But different segments of the population will respond differently to price increases, that’s why we use the term ‘life cycle approach’ when looking at consumption.
“So on average, increasing tobacco prices makes cannabis use go down — but the opposite is true for this particular age group.”
Dr Singh said the findings could help shape future health policies and messaging.
“This shows applying blanket policies for everybody may not be the best way to improve outcomes across all demographics,” he said.
Originally published as New research reveals older smoking Aussies are turning to cannabis as tobacco prices increase
Gross discovery in popular lake
A busy lake in the middle of a major city has been temporarily closed to the public after dangerous levels of bacteria were discovered in the water.
Pill testing rolled out at major festival
One state’s pill testing laws will receive their first test when drug checking services are rolled out at a major festival over the weekend.