Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Oct 6;17(19):7291. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17197291.
Taxation policies are the most cost-effective measure to reduce overall tobacco consumption. However, cigarettes in Lithuania are among the cheapest in the European Union. The threat of the illicit trade is often used to compromise evidence-based policies, pricing policies particularly. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of illicit cigarette consumption in Lithuania and identify the main characteristics of illicit cigarette smokers. The national cross-sectional survey with direct observation of the latest purchased pack of cigarettes was conducted between August and September 2019. In total, 1050 smokers aged ≥18 were interviewed face-to-face. The illicit share of the total consumption of cigarettes per year was 10.7% with 9.7% of smokers showing or describing illicit cigarette packs compared to 17% reported by industry-funded studies. Older smokers, smokers with lower education and heavy smokers were more likely to regularly purchase illicit cigarettes. The average price of an illicit pack was almost two times lower than licit. Although the illicit trade of tobacco products is a serious policy challenge, the threat of an increase in illicit trade should not delay tobacco taxation improvements.
税收政策是减少总体烟草消费的最具成本效益的措施。然而，立陶宛的香烟价格在欧盟中是最便宜的之一。非法贸易的威胁常常被用来损害基于证据的政策，尤其是定价政策。本研究旨在确定立陶宛非法香烟消费的程度，并确定非法香烟吸烟者的主要特征。2019 年 8 月至 9 月期间进行了全国性的横断面调查，通过直接观察最近购买的香烟包进行调查。共有 1050 名年龄≥18 岁的吸烟者接受了面对面访谈。每年香烟总消费量的非法份额为 10.7%，与行业资助研究报告的 17%相比，有 9.7%的吸烟者展示或描述了非法香烟包。年龄较大的吸烟者、受教育程度较低的吸烟者和重度吸烟者更有可能定期购买非法香烟。非法香烟包的平均价格几乎比合法香烟低两倍。尽管烟草制品的非法贸易是一个严重的政策挑战，但增加非法贸易的威胁不应延迟烟草税的提高。
