Smokers use 8% of per capita family income to buy cigarettes

Brazilians who smoke allocate around 8% of their family income per capita (per individual), monthly, to the purchase of industrialized cigarettes. Monthly spending reaches almost 10% of income among smokers aged 15 to 24 years, reaching 11% among those with incomplete primary education. The data are part of a survey by the National Cancer Institute (Inca), which will be presented this Wednesday (31), at the institution’s headquarters, in Rio de Janeiro, during the launch of the campaign “We need food, not tobacco”, by the World Health Organization (WHO). The campaign marks World No Tobacco Day, celebrated on May 31. The survey was based on data from the 2019 National Health Survey (PNS). income and not so much in spending. For people who have lower education, who live in states or regions where the average income is lower, spending on cigarettes ends up having a greater relative contribution”, highlighted, in an interview with Agência Brasil, the doctor André Szklo, one of the authors of the study, carried out by the Inca Population Research Division. than among smokers with higher education. The same thing occurs in regions of the country. In the North and Northeast, where the average income is lower compared to the Southeast and South, the commitment to spending on cigarettes ends up being higher as well, indicated Szklo. By sex, the percentage reaches 8% for men and 7% for women. By regions The North and Northeast regions concentrate the highest expenses with smoking, with Acre being the state with the highest income commitment (14%), followed by Alagoas (12%), Ceará, Pará and Tocantins (11% each). In the South Region, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul register 8% of expenses with cigarettes and Santa Catarina, 7%. In the Southeast, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais also show expenses around 8%, while São Paulo and Espírito Santo reach 7%. The lowest income commitment rates, on the other hand, appear in the Midwest Region, with Mato Grosso do Sul and the Federal District showing expenses of 6% each. Mato Grosso and Goiás reach 9% each. André Szklo informed that this contribution is derived from two variables: how much the person is spending on average, in that month, on cigarettes, and the average income of households in those states where there is a smoker resident. “It will not necessarily be the same (spend) for all states. Because it has a relationship between how much you spend and the average household income in that state, per capita’. For example, when one notices that Mato Grosso do Sul has a lower contribution, this may be due both to a higher household income among families that have at least one smoker, as well as a proportionally lower expenditure by that smoker in Mato Grosso do Sul, not necessarily because he is buying less cigarettes, but also because of the price he is paying for the product. Cheaper price World No Tobacco Day, May 31, 2023. Campaign images – Pan American Health Organization/PAHO – Art: PAHO – Art: PAHO The researcher from Inca recalled that Mato Grosso do Sul borders Paraguay, important entry point for cigarettes that do not pay tax, the so-called illegal ones, whose price is lower than that of the legal product. After Paraguay, Brazil is the country with the cheapest cigarettes in the Americas. “Since 2017, we have had a real drop, that is, after discounting inflation, in the price of legal Brazilian cigarettes. It’s a very cheap cigarette”. In the expenditure analyzed by Inca, expenditure on legal and illegal cigarettes is included. As cigarettes are consumed very cheaply in Brazil, André Szklo said that this leads people not to stop smoking and, also, that teenagers and young people, especially, end up being motivated and led to start smoking, stimulated by the very low price. The researcher warned that spending on cigarettes, which is compromising household income, could be used in another way, such as consuming healthy foods or investing in leisure, physical, sports activities, to prevent a series of diseases. But, on the contrary, it is being directed towards the consumption of cigarettes. The recommendation is that it is necessary to create a barrier again, defended Szklo. “And this barrier to spending on cigarettes is to increase the price again”. In the evaluation of the researcher from Inca, increasing the rates that apply to final tobacco products and, consequently, to the final price of cigarettes, is the most effective measure of public health and tobacco control, to reduce initiation and encourage cessation of this habit. “If we go back to increasing the price of cigarettes, smokers will end up spending less, because they will stop smoking”. SUS The Inca study highlights the importance of actually creating a specific tax for tobacco products, so that price increases can once again be achieved. Resources from this tax must be channeled to the Unified Health System (SUS), for example, for the treatment of diseases related to tobacco use. “The cost of smoking for the country represents much more than what is collected in terms of taxes by the tobacco industry”. According to Szklo, the collection reaches 10% of the estimated cost of R$ 125 million per year. The doctor from the Inca insisted that the study is a warning to increase the price of cigarettes again, so that Brazilians’ expenses with the purchase of the product are no longer incurred. “So that smokers stop smoking or don’t even start smoking and, with that, we can reduce the inequity in the distribution of smokers in the population and also in terms of health outcomes. Because it is exactly in the lower income populations, in the poorest states, among families with less schooling, that cigarettes end up compromising per capita household income more”. , this money that is currently spent on cigarettes can be channeled into other actions to promote people’s health, in addition to buying food, which is the theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day. with tobacco, she can use the money to buy food, without falling into the interference of the ultra-processed food industry, but giving preference to healthy foods. “Obviously, if you have less tobacco consumption, there will be more food on the Brazilian plate , because the person can also allocate a part of the area currently used in the cultivation of tobacco leaves for foods such as rice and beans, among others. The study warns that the country continues to advance in the fight against smoking”. Actions The WHO campaign is led in Brazil by Inca. She highlights the importance of actions that encourage the production of sustainable food to replace tobacco cultivation, in addition to diversifying production, protecting the environment and improving the health of workers involved with this crop. During an event alluding to the World No Tobacco Day, Inca will exhibit strategies aimed at reducing consumption. The Ministry of Health agency will receive, on the occasion, an award from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in recognition of actions that contribute to reducing the consumption of tobacco products in the country. In partnership with the state and municipal health departments of Rio de Janeiro, Inca also promotes an action in Praça da Cruz Vermelha, in the central region of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, aimed at raising awareness among smokers so that they stop smoking. Information materials will be distributed to the population.

Agência Brasil