Higher Cigarette Prices: A Window for Cessation?

This Policy Brief was written by Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) in Indonesia. The policy brief assesses the impact of cigarette price increases on adult smoking cessation. Between 1998 and 2021, cigarettes in the country became 3.6x more affordable as their relative income price decreased. The researchers find that increasing cigarette taxes to raise prices by 10% would increase the probability of cessation by between 0.11% to 0.17%. These estimates are low compared to similar studies in other countries, which suggests that prices are very low and remain affordable. Smokers of kreteks and filtered kretek cigarettes are typically more responsive to price, which suggests that these individuals would be even more likely to quit smoking in response to this price increase. Furthermore, individuals who are male, older, reside in urban areas, and have not completed primary school have a greater probability of cessation as well. The policy brief concludes with recommendations for policy makers to significantly raise taxes on tobacco products to encourage adult smokers to quit. 

A corresponding Report can be found here.