Raising taxes on cigarettes, a public health measure used by governments to encourage people to quit, doesn’t motivate all smokers to stop the deadly habit. A study on the long-term impact of taxing cigarettes, led by two PhD students in the Department of Economics, Sunday Azagba and Mesbah Sharaf, found higher taxes do prompt low-and middle-income earners to quit. Yet price increases don’t persuade wealthier smokers or those aged 25 to 44 to butt out: Métro Montréal, Le Journal de Montréal, Canoë, Le Journal de Québec, 24 Heures,The Vancouver Province, The Vancouver Sun, The Ottawa Citizen, The Moncton Times & Transcript, The Edmonton Journal, The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, The Regina Leader-Post, Global News, The Gazette, Windsor Star, Nanaimo Daily News, Calgary Herald, Victoria Times-Colonist, Gant Daily, The Toronto Telegraph, The Gazette, Medbroadcast.com, tobacco.org, Health on the Net, wtvm.com ktul.com and National Post. Internationally, the study was covered by U.S. News & World Report, Live Science, The French Tribune, Newsroom America, The Times of India and All Headline News.
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