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New analysis from Curtin College has revealed growing cigarette costs over the previous a number of years have seen extra older Australians flip to hashish use instead. “Cannabis and tobacco: substitutes and complements” was revealed within the Journal of Inhabitants Economics.
Researchers from Curtin’s College of Accounting, Economics and Finance investigated the shopping for habits of almost 100,000 Australians from 2001 to 2019 by analyzing information from the Australian Nationwide Drug Technique Family Survey.
The group discovered when cigarette costs elevated, hashish use decreased in Australians below 40 years of age, with no change for individuals aged between 40 and 50.
Nonetheless, it additionally confirmed hashish use elevated amongst individuals aged over 50 when cigarette costs rose.
Examine creator John Curtin Distinguished Professor Mark Harris stated the outcomes have been stunning as a result of hashish and tobacco are usually consumed as a bundle.
“In economic terms, if they’re consumed together and it becomes more expensive to buy tobacco, you’d expect cannabis consumption to also fall,” Professor Harris stated.
“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.”
As a part of the research, researchers ran a simulation of what would occur if tobacco costs rose by 10% by way of greater taxes or different means.
They discovered 68,000 individuals aged over 50 would begin utilizing hashish in response, whether or not growing current hashish use or opting to strive hashish for the primary time as a tobacco substitute.
Co-study creator Dr. Ranjodh Singh stated making use of shopper conduct analysis may assist create efficient well being promotion methods.
“In economics, we have this idea that people behave rationally, that we act according to price,” Dr. Singh stated.
“However completely different segments of the inhabitants will reply otherwise to cost will increase, that is why we use the time period ‘life cycle strategy’ when taking a look 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 stated the findings may assist form future well being insurance policies and messaging.
“This shows applying blanket policies for everybody may not be the best way to improve outcomes across all demographics,” Dr. Singh stated.
The research was performed in collaboration with RMIT College’s Dr. Preety Srivastava.
Extra info:
Mark N. Harris et al, Hashish and tobacco: substitutes and enhances, Journal of Inhabitants Economics (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s00148-024-01055-2
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Curtin College
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Older Australians turning to hashish as cigarette costs rise, analysis reveals (2024, December 13)
retrieved 13 December 2024
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