According to a new research published in BMJ Open, smokers who roll their own cigarettes are less likely to attempt smoking cessation.
Researchers at the University College London (UCL) analysed data from >38,000 English adults who were current smokers or had quit in the past year. The data were collected using the Smoking Toolkit Study, an ongoing study on smoking habits in England.
Total of 56.3% respondents reported exclusive smoking of factory-made cigarettes, and 36.6% reported exclusive smoking of roll your own (RYO) cigarettes. The findings showed that 15.9% of the smokers primarily smoking RYOs had a high motivation to quit vs 20.3% of those who were mainly smoking factory-made cigarettes. The key factor influencing the RYO smokers’ disinclination to quit seemed to be relatively the lower cost of RYOs than factory-made cigarettes. Compared to individuals smoking factory-made cigarettes, RYO cigarette users reported spending around half as much on smoking each week.
Data from the Office for National Statistics indicate that although the overall prevalence of smoking in the United Kingdom is declining, the use of RYO cigarettes is rising. Dr Sarah Jackson from UCL said: "This has important implications for tobacco control policy, given that a key strategy used by governments worldwide to reduce smoking is to raise taxes on tobacco in order to increase the cost of smoking."
