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Abstract
This study models independent associations of state or local strong clean indoor air
laws and cigarette prices with current smoker status and consumption in a multilevel
framework, including interactions with educational attainment, household income and
race/ethnicity and the relationships of these policies to vulnerabilities in smoking
behavior. Cross sectional survey data are employed from the February 2002 panel of
the Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey (54,024 individuals representing
the US population aged 15-80). Non-linear relationships between both outcome variables
and the predictors were modeled. Independent associations of strong clean indoor air
laws were found for current smoker status (OR 0.66), and consumption among current
smokers (-2.36 cigarettes/day). Cigarette price was found to have independent associations
with both outcomes, an effect that saturated at higher prices. The odds ratio for
smoking for the highest versus lowest price over the range where there was a price
effect was 0.83. Average consumption declined (-1.16 cigarettes/day) over the range
of effect of price on consumption. Neither policy varied in its effect by educational
attainment, or household income. The association of cigarette price with reduced smoking
participation and consumption was not found to vary with race/ethnicity. Population
vulnerability in consumption appears to be structured by non-white race categories,
but not at the state and county levels at which the policies we studied were enacted.
Clean indoor air laws and price increases appear to benefit all socio-economic and
race/ethnic groups in our study equally in terms of reducing smoking participation
and consumption.